


Rochambeau (aka Linvengers)

by Break_So_Beautifully, kikabennet



Series: Rochambeau Universe [1]
Category: Do No Harm (TV), Hamilton - Miranda, His Dark Materials (TV), His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, House M.D., In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
Genre: Aerokinesis (control of the weather), Dimensional manipulation, Electrokinesis, Immortality, Multi, Portal Manipulation, Precognition, Telekinesis, Telepathy, super powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:46:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 62,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21533926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Break_So_Beautifully/pseuds/Break_So_Beautifully, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikabennet/pseuds/kikabennet
Summary: Alexander Hamilton is cursed with immortality. Usnavi De la Vega can read minds. Lee Scoresby can control the weather.  Ruben Marcado should be dead. Juan Alvarez is locked away,  but is it because he's crazy or because he's too powerful? When the five are brought together to save the world, it becomes clear that they were always meant to cross paths.
Relationships: Alexander Hamilton/Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler, Graffiti Pete/Sonny, Juan "Alvie" Alvarez/Ruben Marcado, Usnavi/Vanessa (In the Heights)
Series: Rochambeau Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2081637
Comments: 213
Kudos: 87





	1. Alexander

**Author's Note:**

> Originally an idea dubbed 'Linvengers' that was just 'what if' scenarios over and over until I decided to finally take a shot and write it. Please let me know what you think and since I'm kind of writing it on a whim, I would love ideas!

**Chapter 1: Alexander**

Alexander sighs as he enters the gate code to his apartment. It's a chilly November evening and he thinks back to when he lived on the island. It's nothing more than a wisp of a memory now. All he remembers is that he _remembers_. It's all part of his curse. So many have called him fortunate over the years, but he feels like he's been doomed since the day he was born. The memories are what he misses the most. The more time goes on, the less he remembers. Of course, he knows where he's lived and who's he lived with and certain events in his life, but he can no longer pull them forward. He can't always remember what his mother sounded like or what Eliza used to sing to the children when they were sick. Little things that meant the most to him are what he misses the most. 

When he finally gets up the stairs and into his apartment, he can't believe how plain it is. Truly a bachelor pad. No pictures on the wall-just a few bland pieces of art. The hanging pot holder above his kitchen island have expensive pots that have never been used. A few colleagues from his firm gave him things like candles and bath products and gift cards-all unopened and unused. 

He checks his phone and sees he has the usual messages-a note about a case from a fellow lawyer, a list of hours his housekeeper has worked. He sighs and replies to his colleague and then sends payment to his housekeeper's account. It's a week before Thanksgiving so he adds an extra hundred dollars. Mildred is her name and she's a middle aged woman with a kind heart and very intelligent, but sacrificed all of her time and money to putting her four boys through school. He likes Mildred. She's the only person he ever really talks to outside of work and will sometimes bring him dinner-a casserole here, some homemade bread there...

The television is just background noise. Alexander busies himself in the kitchen, opening the fridge to get out the half empty bottle of wine from earlier this week and a casserole dish covered in foil-Mildred again. She's also left some muffins in the microwave. They smell cinnamon-y and have some sort sugar crust on top. He wolfs down a few while he nukes a chunk of casserole in the microwave and then takes it to the small breakfast table with his glass of wine. 

One thing he does remember-noise. He remembers a time when he was surrounded by it, whether it be the loud, drunken laughter of fellow young soldiers, bumping into one another and telling dirty jokes, or the thump thump THUMP THUMP of little feet running up and down the stairs. He remembers the sound of a baby crying in the middle of the night and whining of toddlers tugging at his arm. He remembers the high pitched laughter of children and the beautiful laugh of his wife that sounded as beautiful as the wind chimes that hung on their front porch.

His thought train is broken when his phone buzzes loudly, vibrating across the steel and glass table. He picks it up and glances at the number. It's just a number-no name. 

"Hello?"

"Mr. Hamilton?"

"No," he says. "I'm sorry. You have the wrong number."

"My mistake. Saenz."

"Yes, this is Alexander Saenz," he says, leaning back in his chair. "May I ask who's calling?"

"My name is Christian Lawless. I spoke with a few members of your firm this afternoon. You're a difficult attorney to get a hold of."

"We're out the door with clients right now, I'm afraid," Alexander replies. "I'm sorry. We can't take on any more cases until the spring."

"I'm actually more interested in something else," Lawless says. "A proposition of sorts. Would be interested in being a consultant for a case?"

Alexander's brows furrow slightly as he takes a sip of wine. "Consultant?"

"It's very tricky," Lawless says. "We're working with a very low-laying risky case. The lives of many are at stake. Men, women, children, rich, poor..."

Now Alexander is just confused. 

"I'm not following," he says. "What are you talking about?"

"Would you be interested in having lunch?" Lawless asks. "I know tomorrow is Saturday, but I also know your schedule can be very demanding during the week."

Alexander bites at his lower lip and frowns thoughtfully. He has no clue what this guy is talking about, but something about the way he speaks tells Alexander not a lot can be said over the phone. He's worked in Washington before. He's worked for several organizations and for powerful people. He knows how a few things work. 

"There's a cafe on Claremont," he finally says. "Eleven am."

The line goes dead. Alexander finishes his wine and discards his uneaten casserole into the trashcan and washes his dishes-he's not one to leave things for later, something years of military meticulousness has instilled in him. 

\---

_"My love, please hold on," Eliza says, taking one of his hands in both of hers. She's trembling._

_"I'm...he's waiting for me on the other side," Alexander replies, his vision going in and out. He brings his hand close to his lips, pressing them to her hand. "Washington...John..."_

_He lets out a long, shuddering sigh._

_"Phillip..." he says, closing his eyes._

_"Alexander!" Her voice is getting farther and farther away. "Alexander!"_

\----------

He wakes up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. Why is it that in his dreams the memories are so much clearer? He brings the back of his hand to his mouth, barely holding it against his lips, and he can almost feel her. 

He gets up and goes to the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror. He runs a hand through his short, sweaty hair. It suddenly feels strange-being so short. Eliza used to run her hands through his long hair, teasing him that it was softer and thicker than her own. 

"Eliza..." he whispers. "Phillip, Angelica, Alex, James, John, William..." 

He swallows hard. It's his greatest fear-and it's becoming more and more a reality. He's beginning to forget people. His own family. His own children.

"William..." he tries again. "Ellie..."

He closes his eyes, trying to bring names to faces. It's frustrating not to remember. He thinks about the dream, the dream he has so often now. 

\---

_"I'll see you on the other side..." he tells her, feeling at peace for the first time since the searing pain began._

_He wakes up and Eliza and Angelica are no longer at his side. He's somewhere unfamiliar. He raises his shirt and almost sighs in disappointment when there are no more bandages, no wound, no nothing._

_"So what Washington said was true," says an old man, approaching his bed. There's a fire going in a fireplace and a tall bookcase filled with books, more than the library in his own home._

_"Where am I?" Alexander asks, rubbing at his tired eyes. "Eliza...where is my wife?"_

_"I'd say she's planning your funeral," the old man says, bringing him a cup of something hot."_

_"I'm not dead," Alexander tells him, taking the cup. "You must send her a message. I must go to her!"_

_"And tell her what? That you're alive?" The old man asks, sounding almost amused. "You've survived so much, Alexander Hamilton. Do you really think this is going to pass forever? Surviving sickness and shipwrecks? Fatal gunshot wounds? And what about when everyone around you grows old? Your wife? Your children? And you're still as youthful as a man in his twenties?"_

_"I want to see my family," Alexander says, but his voice breaks just a little._

_The old man shakes his head and says, "They will think something dark of you. Something inhuman."_

_"They'll understand," Alexander argues. "I'll make them understand."_

_"I have met a few like you," the old man says. "I've helped them. I've helped them to realize what they have is a gift."_

_Alexander finally takes a drink from the cup and asks, "Who are you?"_

_"Franklin." The man smiles._

_\---------_

Alexander will never forget when he decided to continue on with the pretense of his death. Franklin had been right. Even if his inability to expire was some kind of gift, everyone around him would eventually expire. He would have to watch Eliza and his children grow old. Would they resent him? Would it be a painful experience? He had already watched so many die, unable to help them in any way-yet by some cruel twist of fate, he was allowed to live. Over and over and over again...

He eventually moved away and changed his name, always keeping Alexander because he wanted to hold onto that part of him. Franklin had many connections who helped him create a new identity every fifty-a hundred years. When social security numbers started, he learned to take on the numbers of the deceased-especially babies because nobody looked into deceased new people. 

\-----------

"Thank you, Grace," Alexander says when the waitress returns to fill his coffee cup for a third time. He's at the cafe on Claremont and not one person has approached him. He's beginning to feel like a fool. 

"Can I get you anything else?" The waitress asks. "A bagel? Cream?"

"I'm good, thanks," Alexander says, watching as two men enter the cafe. They don't look like they could be Lawson either. They're both young and wearing pressed slacks and too-stiff collar shirts and yammering on about golf. 

Once his third cup is nearly empty, Alexander decides to call it quits and leaves a few bills on table to cover his bill as well as his tip. He looks around one more time, but he's certain every patron who has come in and out of the small building is not the man he spoke with over the phone. As he leaves, he notices a black car parked in front of the cafe, almost blocking the sidewalk entrance. He rolls his eyes and mutters about how it' going to get towed. It's an expensive looking car too. 

As he walks down the sidewalk, zipping up his coat a little more, he's suddenly grabbed from behind. He begins to struggle, but a cloth is placed in front of his nose and mouth-replacing the hand that had been there, and in seconds his world goes dark. 

\-----

When he wakes, he's in a plush, swivel office chair in some kind room with a camera on the ceiling. The only pieces of furniture other than the chair are a long table with two other chairs and a water cooler in the corner. He stands up and holds his head for a moment, and then moves for the door. It's locked. He expected that much. He stares at the camera and then walks around the room for any clues as to where he might be. 

The door opens and a man walks in. Alexander's heart almost stops when he notices he looks exactly like someone he used to know. Of course, he knows it isn't him, but the resemblance is uncanny.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," the man says, setting a file folder on the table. 

"I'm guessing the cafe on Claremont didn't do it for you," Alexander says dryly, plunking himself back into the chair.

"I wanted somewhere a little more private," the man says, holding out his hand. "Christian Lawless."

Alexander reluctantly shakes it. "Alexander Saenz."

The man nods at the folder and Alexander opens it. It's not what he expected to find. It's information on _him_.

"You've led quite an interesting life," Lawless says. "Passed the bar exam at twenty-three. You've won dozens of cases in less than ten years. What is your secret?"

"I'm a smart guy," Alexander says, shutting the folder. "What do you want?"

The man takes the folder and opens it back up.

"I see you were also in the military," the man says, looking between Alexander and the folder like he's going over his resume, like this is some casual job interview. 

Alexander frowns and says in a flat voice, "I was never in the military."

"You worked under General Washington," the man continues, still reading off the paper. 

Alexander's brows furrow and he uncrosses his arms.

" 'General Washington'?" He repeats in disbelief. "As in...George Washington? Are you nuts?"

He laughs a little, but it's obvious he thinks nothing is funny. The man closes the folder and then takes out his phone, placing it to his ear.

"Go ahead," is all he says before he hangs up.

Alexander is about to say more when two larger men come into the room-it's obvious they're some sort of security with their muscles and all, and one of them jerks

him up by the arm and holds him against his broad frame, his arms pinned at an odd angle behind him so he can't get free. He struggles like Hell though.

"GET OFFA ME!" He yells.

The other large man takes out a small a small, flat box from his suit jacket pocket and opens it to retrieve a scalpel. Alexander stills and his eyes go wide. Lawless moves forward and takes the scalpel from the small case. He walks right in front of Alexander and the man who brought in the scalpel holds Alexander's head still. The man takes the sharp medical tool and cuts Alexander's face, a deep, clean line, making Alexander hiss in pain. In a few seconds, he takes his thumb and wipes the blood away, and Alexander's heart pounds fast. He knows there is no longer a cut. 

"Rapid cellular regeneration," he says, and then laughs a little, shaking his head. "I'll be damned."

"There's a story that Alexander Hamilton was announced dead after destroying British supply and trying to cross a river with British gun fire only to show up soaking wet later while everyone was drinking to his memory," the man says, sitting back down. "Also that his ship coming to America caught fire, and that he survived a fever that killed his mother-"

"And a hurricane," Alexander interrupts hotly. "You know, you remind me of a guy I used to know. A real tool."

"Just tell me what I need to know," Lawless says simply, folding his hands together. "What's your name?"

Alexander says nothing. For several seconds, neither of them say anything. 

"You have a gift, you know," Lawless tells him. "A gift the world could use right now."

He takes out a sheet of paper and slides it over. Alexander makes no move to take it, but lets his eyes wander. Grainy black and white photographs of people bloody and bruised-women gripping small children close, men on their knees, hands behind their heads. Bodies. Horrible things. 

"What do you want?" Alexander asks.

"Someone who can help save the world," Lawless says. "Someone like you."

After several more seconds of silence he asks, "What's your name?"

Alexander looks him right in the eye.

"Alexander Hamilton."

_To Be Continued..._


	2. Usnavi

****

**Chapter 2: Usnavi**

“Still couldn’t sleep?” Vanessa asks as Usnavi digs around in the cupboard above the bathroom sink to retrieve a bottle of aspirin.

She's been living with Usnavi since Abuela's passing, but the small house is becoming cramped and now that Usnavi has some money, they're talking about moving into something bigger. The house is a narrow, two story structure that used to serve as a double apartment-The De La Vegas upstairs, and Abuela Claudia downstairs. After his aunt died and baby Sonny became part of the growing household, Usnavi's small bedroom which was actually originally part of a large sitting area and separated by large pieces of plywood his father had structured, became his _and_ Sonny's bedroom. When his own parents passed, the two De La Vega boys had the entire upstairs. Now Usnavi shares the apartment with Sonny and Vanessa, but it's more crowded than ever. It's _louder_ than ever.

“The neighbors have gotten so noisy,” he grumbles, popping a few pills and chasing them down water straight from the faucet.

Vanessa brushes her teeth and after she spits and rinses, says, “I still don’t know what you’re talking about. I never hear anyone being too loud. It’s always pretty quiet.”

“You don’t?” Usnavi asks, eyebrows raised. “They’re practically at our fire escape screaming. I can hear every loud conversation they’re having.”

He checks his phone and grumbles, “Shit. Gotta get Sonny up.”

He walks out of the bathroom and down the hallway of the small apartment, banging on Sonny’s bedroom door. 

“School day,” he says without even opening it and continuing on. He knows Sonny is awake because he can hear him babbling nonsense about teachers and homework and the latest video games.

“Your headaches are starting to scare me too,” Vanessa says, meeting him in the kitchen where he begins to make coffee. “You might need to see a doctor.”

“I’m fine,” Usnavi counters, handing her a cup of freshly brewed coffee. 

The truth is, he's not fine. Usnavi has been through a lot in his twenty-four years of life. He was born premature to parents who barely spoke a lick of English with only a couple hundred dollars in their pocket. As a child he was loud and hyper and always wanted to know what everyone was doing and got in trouble for it at school. He's awkward around women which still baffles him that Vanessa Garcia is with him. 

Aside from all of those things, Usnavi's head is never quiet. As a child, he couldn't understand why he got in trouble for talking during the middle of a test or in the public library because it felt like _everyone_ was talking. New York City is hardly ever quiet, but Usnavi has always wondered why he seems to hear everything so much more and so much louder. 

He's never told anyone, but he always knew during the time that his parents were sick that they were going to die. Abuela kept him out of the bedroom, but even through the closed door, even all the way in his own little makeshift bedroom or downstairs in Abuela's living area, he could hear them talking about what was going to happen after they passed. He could hear them going on about money and watching him grow up and the bodega. Their deaths were a whirlwind of grief, and in that whirlwind, he never told anyone that he always knew they were dying. 

After several minutes of quiet, Usnavi calls, “Sonny!”

There’s no answer. Silence again.

“He’s gonna be late,” Usnavi grumbles, setting his cup down and heading for Sonny’s room once more. This time, he opens the door. "Sonny, orale-"

Sonny is still asleep in bed. The light is off. There are no signs that he’s even gotten up at all. Usnavi turns the light on, brows furrowed in confusion.

“Sonny?” he asks, nudging his cousin with his big toe. 

“Hnnnnn….” Sonny sits up, scratching his head under his curls. 

“Are you just getting up?” Usnavi asks. 

“Yeah...time is it?” Sonny yawns. 

\-----

Usnavi sees Sonny off to school and then kisses Vanessa goodbye to go open the store. Even though he has Abuela’s lottery winnings, he’s still a diligent bodega worker. He enjoys it, he’s decided, and wants to use the money to save and open a bar someday or something. Maybe a second store. Maybe a restaurant. Who knows?

“Hey, Carla!” he calls from the back, bringing out some large rolls of paper towels from the storeroom.

When he gets back to the register, Carla looks a little surprised. Usnavi frowns.

“Everything okay?” he asks. 

“How’d you know it was me?” she questions, clearly perturbed as he moves to pour her her usual cup of coffee.

“I heard you talking,” he shrugs loosely. “I know your voice.”

She pays and then Usnavi hears her murmur, “I wish people took me more seriously.”

“People _do_ take you seriously,” he pipes up almost instantly, the assurance reaffirmed with a big smile. “Ever since I was little and you were a teenager, I always thought you and Danni were the wisest women on the whole block.”

Carla smiles this time and bites her bottom lip before leaning over to pinch Usnavi’s cheek. 

“It’s like you read my mind,” she says. “Have a good day, Usnavi.”

Usnavi watches her go and then something outside catches his eye. It’s a black car parked on the curb, but not the average beat up piece of junk he’s used to seeing. This car is blindingly shiny with tinted windows so dark, it’s impossible to see anything but the reflection of his store sign. He glances to see Carla walk around it to get to the other side of the street and someone rolls down the window a crack and motions her over. He watches, suspicious now, as she converses with someone inside, pointing right at the bodega. What’s that all about? He’s only worried for a moment because before he can even think to step out and ask, Carla is on her way. 

The car is still there, though. It’s there for almost another hour, but Usnavi gets too busy with the wave of caffeine-deprived regulars to notice. 

\---

After a few days, Usnavi forgets all about the car to ask Carla about it, but to be fair, his headaches are getting worse. It's so bad that he's upgraded to some of Sonny's leftover prescription paid meds from when he got his wisdom teeth removed.

"Cuz, I'm worried about you," Sonny says, watching his older cousin, who might as well be his brother, pop another pill into his mouth. "Maybe you should see a doctor. You and I both know the De La Vegas aren't lucky when it comes to health."

Usnavi shakes his head, drinking some water straight from the bathroom sink. "I'll be fine. Did you do your homework?"

"I always do my homework," Sonny says, still grumpy that Usnavi made him enroll in advanced classes after speaking with his teachers and guidance counselor. 

"You're lying," Usnavi says. "Go do it."

"I ain't lyin'," Sonny argues, hopping off the tiny bathroom counter. "Dang."

"You are lyin'," Usnavi says, pointing at him, eyebrows raised. "I always know when you're lyin'."

"You always know everything," Sonny says, grinning a little. "Ever since I was little, you knew if I really brushed my teeth and washed behind my ears and you always knew if I was actually asleep or readin' comic books under the covers."

"Intuition," Usnavi says. "Go. Do your homework. Get those grades. You'll be goin' to college in a few years, remember? We need a De La Vega with a Masters."

Sonny groans good-naturedly, but heads out of the bathroom. As he opens the door, Usnavi lets out a cry like he's hurt, and he stops.

"Navi?" He turns back around, just in time to catch his cousin before he falls to his knees.

Usnavi cries out again, this time holding his head with both hands. Sonny panics.

"Navi, what's wrong?" He asks. "Hey! Talk to me!"

"She's dying!" Usnavi all but yells. "She's dying! She's bleeding!"

"Who?" Sonny frowns, stroking some of his cousin's short hair. "Vanessa! Vanessa!"

Vanessa doesn't come, though, and Sonny bites his bottom lip before taking action.

"Hey, I need you to stand up, okay? You're okay. I got you. I got you."

Usnavi starts muttering under his breath, shaking his head. 

"Shut up," he says quietly. "Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!"

He's louder now, and he's sobbing too. Sonny holds him, unsure of what else to do. He just holds him close until Usnavi goes limp in his arms. 

"Navi?" He asks quietly. "Hey? Usnavi?"

He checks to make sure he's breathing.

"Oh my God!" He hears Vanessa call, coming up the stairs. "Someone just got murdered right outside our house! Some girl and her boyfriend were fighting! He pulled out a gun and-"

When she gets to the bathroom, she's still in a frenzy, but this time for a totally different reason.

"Usnavi!" She's instantly by Sonny's side. "What happened? Call 911!"

Usnavi stirs slightly and murmurs something about bleeding. Sonny shakes his head at Vanessa with a shrug.

\----

"We can only assume it was a panic attack," the tired looking ER doctor tells them, looking over a chart. "Everything came back normal. He needs sleep."

Vanessa looks at Usnavi, who is slumped over in the waiting room chair, leaning against Sonny. 

"He's been complaining about headaches," she says. "They're getting worse. He fainted. That can't just be panic attacks."

"You'll need to make an appointment with a neurologist," the doctor says. "Right now, take him home, make sure he rests."

With that, he turns on his heels and abandons them. After all, they're at the urgent care in the brown part of town. Most doctors are only here because there wasn't a spot in a nicer place.

"Fucking prick," Vanessa mutters, slinging her purse over her shoulder. Very gently to her boyfriend, though, she says, "Come on, Babe. Let's get you home."

\---

By the middle of the night, Usnavi is sobbing again and Vanessa and Sonny are taking turns sitting with him. What really scares them is when he tells them he can't hear them anymore. He's shouting it, like he's afraid.

"I can't hear anyone!" He sobs. "I can't-everyone is too loud!"

Vanessa calls Benny over, who is just as puzzled and worried as they are. Usnavi babbles the same nonsense to him, randomly spouting things that don't make any sense. He cries and rocks back and forth, sitting up in the bed.

"We have to get him back to the hospital," Sonny says. "We have to."

Before Vanessa can respond, there's a loud rap at the door. It startles them all because it's almost two in the morning.

"I got it," Benny says, going to answer it. 

It's a young man in a suit. He's darker than Benny, and a lot smaller in size, but there's something about him that makes his presence... _large_.

"Is this the residence of Usnavi De La Vega?" He asks without even saying hello.

"That depends," Benny says, blocking the majority of the entryway with his large frame. "Who's asking?"

"My name is Christian Lawless," the man says. "I work for an organization known as 'Rochambeau'."

Benny frowns. "Okay."

"I know that he was brought to an urgent care clinic this evening," Lawless says. "They weren't able to help him. I can."

Sonny wiggles his way around Benny and asks, "You can?"

"Sonny-" Benny says gently, but firmly, keeping him back. 

"Please," Lawless says. "I mean no harm. I'm here to help. I can explain everything, but I would like to help him first."

"How can you help him?" Sonny asks, his voice shaking. 

Lawless takes out a cell phone and places it to his ear. "He's here. He's ready."

Before Benny or Sonny can say anything, two other men in paramedic attire seem to come out of nowhere and hurry up the small steps into the apartment, snapping on gloves. 

"Hey!" Benny barks at them, following them all into the downstairs bedroom. 

Vanessa is crying inside, next to Usnavi, who is hiccuping and murmuring, tears streaming down his face even though he doesn't look all that awake. Lawless sighs and says, "Looks like we got here just in time."

"Who's this?" Vanessa asks Benny, wiping at her eyes.

She watches as the two men begin to check over Usnavi, using medical instruments and jargon that no one else in the room understands, and as one of them gently starts to raise Usnavi from the bed halfway, he flinches and begins to struggle.

"Usnavi-" Vanessa says, touching his arm.

"He can't hear you," Lawless says simply. "He can't hear anyone."

"What do you mean?" Benny asks.

"He's hearing _everyone_ now so he can't hear _anyone_ ," Lawless says. "Everyone's thoughts have blended together into noise. A loud, deafening noise that can do a lot of damage to a person's mind."

"Wait." Sonny frowns. "You said 'thoughts'? Like, mind reading? Some X-Men shit?"

Benny rolls his eyes at that, but Lawless nods.

"Usnavi is experiencing a telepathic crisis. He's what you'd call a mind reader," Lawless says. "When people like him receive thoughts in mass waves, it drowns out what's really going on around them. It can drive them mad. There have been cases of individuals literally jumping from buildings to make it stop. There have been others that live out there life in solitude, but no longer able to function."

It sounds crazy. They all know it sounds crazy, but right now, logic is out the window. Usnavi is in pain. He's suffering. He's scared. 

"Give him an extra dose," Lawless tells one of the medical workers, who dabs at Usnavi's flailing arm with an alcohol swab and holds him still. The other has a needle ready, and gently sticks him with it.

Usnavi settles almost instantly, collapsing back against the pillows. 

"Usnavi?" Vanessa asks worriedly, touching his cheek.

"He's fine," Lawless said. "What these two did-" he gestures. "Just saved his life."

\----

Lawless leaves shortly after, promising to return in the morning. Vanessa fixes coffee and she and Benny and Sonny sit at the kitchen table in silence. The old fashioned clock on the wall louder than anything.

"Sometimes," Vanessa finally says. "Usnavi does just... _know_."

Benny and Sonny look at her.

"Right after," she says, and then eyes Sonny. "Well...you know..."

Sonny makes a face. "Don't talk about sex."

"AFTER," Vanessa says, and Benny chuckles softly. "He knew I wanted cherry cheesecake ice cream. That's pretty fucking specific. He just kissed me and threw his pants on and went down to the bodega and came back with a pint of it. I mean, how can it pop into my head and then he just magically shows up with the stuff?"

"I could never beat him at Rock Paper Scissors," Benny adds. "Ever."

"Fucking wizard in the family," Sonny mutters, taking a drink of his now cold and milky coffee. "Harry Potter shit goin' down."

"But how does that Lawless guy know?" Vanessa asks, leaning forward like he might be somewhere nearby listening. "How did he know he was at urgent care tonight?"

"Maybe he's a mind reader too?" Sonny guesses.

"He said he'd explain everything tomorrow," Benny says with a shrug. 

Vanessa sighs and says, "God, I hope so."

\-----------

"I can read minds?" Usnavi asks, his voice still hoarse from all of his previous shrieks and screams. He's bundled up in a blanket on the sofa, dark rings under his eyes even though the shot knocked him out cold until nearly noon the following day.

Lawless nods. "We've known about you for some time."

"How long is 'some time'?" Vanessa asks, standing nearby, arms crossed.

"We have eyes and ears all over the city," Lawless says. "Going all the way back to your primary school records, you showed early signs of telepathic abilities."

"So..." Usnavi's brain is still foggy. "What does it mean? Am I...will it kill me?"

"Babe." Vanessa is instantly at his side, stroking his hair. 

"Without discipline," Lawless says. "It could. We're not made to process so much information at once. You've basically never slept a day in your life."

He pushes a file folder across the small coffee table. 

"Rochambeau helps special people like you," he explains. "We could get you special doctors, special medication to help control it. All we ask in return, is that you help us."

"Here we go!" Sonny throws his hands up. "Talkin' about helpin' and shit! I knew there was a catch! What is this? The Avengers Initiative? You gonna ask him to help you save the world?"

"Yes." Lawless says simply. 

Sonny's arms drop. "Forreal?"

"Right now," Lawless tells Usnavi. "There's another group similar to ours. They also find special people, but they use them to torment and kill. Entire villages near oil or where they want gaslines built. Human trafficking. Greed. Lust. Vengeance."

Benny asks, "How could Usnavi help you?"

"With special training," Lawless says. "We could teach you to only read minds _willingly."_

"And then you would have him read the minds of your enemies," Vanessa guesses dryly.

"Your enemies too," Lawless informs her. "This isn't new. We've been around for centuries. People like Benjamin Franklin were part of this organization. Evil didn't just happen. It's been happening, and as long as people like Usnavi exist, we can try and stop it."

"And it could help me?" Usnavi asks, sounding small and scared.

Lawless nods. Very hesitantly, he says, "You'd have to go away for a while."

"Out of the question!" Benny says.

"He needs to be somewhere without everyone thinking around him," Lawless explains carefully.

"What? Like in a cave somewhere out in the middle of nowhere?" Vanessa says angrily. "Some forest? Where?"

"We have special labs," Lawless says. "Medication readily available. Doctors and therapists ready to work with him twenty-four-seven."

"How long?" Usnavi asks, more like slurs.

"Usnavi, are you serious?" Sonny asks. 

"I thought about it," his cousin replies, tears filling his eyes. "I thought about...making it stop."

Vanessa covers her mouth.

"You don't know what it's like," Usnavi says, bottom lip quivering as tears roll down his cheeks. "I _felt_ her get killed outside. I felt what she felt."

He starts to cry and Vanessa holds him. 

"You would have access to him," Lawless tells them. "We're not taking him away forever. He could call whenever he liked. This isn't a problem you can fix with bandages or a short trip to the ER. This is serious."

\---

"Call us," Vanessa says, embracing her boyfriend who is packed and ready to go, standing next to Lawless' black car. The same one from before parked outside of the store. 

"I will," Usnavi says, kissing her gently. 

He pulls away to hug and kiss Sonny too. 

"Be good," he tells him. "Do your homework. Help Nessa and Benny keep the store up."

"Ten-four," Sonny says, hugging him tightly. "Get better, okay?"

He hugs Benny next and their exchange is silent, but just as meaningful. Once he's in the passenger seat of the car, Lawless silently offers him two small pills. Usnavi takes them, staring at his hand.

"I know you're trying hard to hold it together," Lawless says. "Take them. It'll help."

Usnavi nods and swallows the small pills, taking the bottle of water that is offered to him next. Almost instantly, the noisy voices that are almost loud static, turn into a dull noise and then stop. 

"I'm thinking of a color," Lawless says. "Tell me."

He starts the car.

"Mauve?" Usnavi says, brows furrowed. "What is mauve?"

"It's nice to control it, isn't it?" Lawless says, smiling. He puts on a pair of sunglasses. "Are you ready, Usnavi?"

To Be Continued...

[Come talk Linvengers to me!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/kikabennet2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are enjoying this! Please feel free to pester me on tumblr and send me any ideas because honestly, I love getting ideas for fanfiction and often use them! Thank you for being so patient with me. Next is Ruben!


	3. Ruben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. 2020 has taken away all of my creative. I know I suck at super hero things, but the idea was just too good to pass up. I hope you enjoy! Alvie is next!

****

**Chapter 3: Ruben**

“Ruben!” Ian screams, tearing through the house. Ruben can hear him throwing things to the floor in his fit of rage. “Where are you?! Where’s the drug?!”

Ruben holds his breath and closes his eyes, trying not to focus on the way he’s trembling as he sits in the little half closet under the stairs. It’s just small enough that he wouldn’t even be able to stand up straight inside, but that means it’s small enough not for Ian to notice right away. Ruben’s not even sure Ian is aware of the little crawl space in the house. 

He’s perfected Blackout. He’s created a drug to destroy either Jason Cole or Ian Price, and he happened to do it after eight twenty-five pm. 

“Ruben, answer me!” Ian roars, sounding incredibly close. 

Ruben knows he’s probably not going to make it out of this ordeal alive. In the back of his mind, he’s always known. His fate was sealed on the flight over the second Ian sat down in the seat next to him.

Now it’s been several months of slaving away at a makeshift chemistry set at the kitchen table during the day, Jason pacing and watching like a hawk, and Ian beating and torturing him at night. Ruben can’t remember the last time he slept soundly enough to dream. He’s so physically and emotionally drained that the last time Ian ziptied his hands around the stair railing and hit him on the back over and over with the buckle from his belt, he didn’t utter a sound beyond quiet whimpers. 

The sound of heavy boots are close. Ian has noticed the closet. 

“Rubes…”

Ruben knows he was never going to leave Jamaica alive, but he won’t die a murderer. Just as Ian rips the door open, Ruben takes the vial of Blackout and with shaking hands, unscrews the lid and downs it. It burns all the way down his throat.

“Oh, big mistake, Rubes,” Ian says, grabbing the front of his t-shirt which is stained with blood from all of the busted lips and noses among other things. 

Ruben knows this is it. Blackout has made his pulse start to race and his vision is going in and out. All over his body is the feeling of when his foot falls asleep. He feels tingly and wired. 

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” Ian growls, and Ruben knows this. He’s always known this. 

The tub in the upstairs bathroom is still filled from early this morning. Ruben shakes his head when Ian looks at him, knowing what’s about to happen, but Ian grabs Ruben by the back of the head roughly and shoves him towards and into the tub facedown. This is one of his favorite methods of torture, but this time, Ruben imagines he’s not going to let him up for air. 

“Drown you like the rat you are,” he growls, and sure enough, he’s making sure Ruben stays under the water. 

Ruben sucks in a big gulp of air followed by several coughs when Ian does let go. He tries to stand up in the tub, but Ian kicks him, hard, making him slip and fall back in. The water is ice cold.

“It’s a shame, Ruben,” he says, walking out of the bathroom. “We could have done great things together.”

Ruben sits in the tub, shivering uncontrollably, and when Ian returns, he’s holding something. 

“I guess this is goodbye,” he says.

Ruben’s vision is really starting to blur now, and there’s a loud ringing in his ears. He can barely hear Ian. He focuses as hard as he can to see what Ian has brought into the bathroom, and when his vision finally comes into focus, his heart beats faster. 

It’s a toaster. A Goddamn toaster. 

He moves to stand beside the tub, and Ruben frantically struggles to get to his feet, to get out of the bath. 

“Adios, Dr. Marcado,” Ian says, tossing the toaster-which is now plugged into the extension cord Ian keeps beside the sink of the faulty wired Jamaican farmhouse, into the water.

\-----

He’s dead. He has to be dead. 

Ruben can see smoke everywhere. It’s thick and choking him as he manages to swing one leg out and over the tub before the rest of his body follows. It’s dark inside the bathroom now. Shakily, Ruben gets to his feet and almost loses his balance on the sopping wet floor. There’s a sudden flash of light, the kinds staticy blankets make in the dark, only there’s another and another and another. The power kicks back on and Ruben lets out a strangled cry. Ian is on the bathroom floor, covered in blood. His eyes and mouth are open and his lips are bleeding. 

Ruben staggers out of the bathroom and sinks down to his knees, breathing hard. As his palms are on the carpet, he stares down at his hands, which are...sparking? Is he hallucinating? He takes a few deep breaths and then for the first time since regaining consciousness, rubs his hands down his face. Unlike Ian, whose skin is raw and rough looking, Ruben’s flesh feels fine. The same bruises and cuts from before, but nothing out of the ordinary.

He finds his feet again, slipping a little as he’s still sopping wet and goes into the little room where the ratty mattress he’s been sleeping on takes up most of the floor. He collapses onto it, breathing heavily, trying to catch up to reality. As he rolls onto his back, he sees flickers of static underneath him. In Philadelphia, this would be normal because of the dry winter air, but here in Jamaica, the air is hot and humid. He closes his eyes, hot tears burning down his cold cheeks. Ian’s dead. Jason’s dead. 

But is Ruben?

After several minutes, he gets up and fumbles around in the dark for the little lamp next to the mattress. As his palm runs over the base of the lamp, it lights up. Ruben removes his hand and it goes dark again. He touches it again and the room faintly illuminates. 

Ruben switches the lamp on and stands up, shakily pulling the old ratty sweatshirt from over his head and then removes his pants and underwear. He changes into dry clothes and puts on socks and shoes. 

As much as he doesn’t want to, he returns to the bathroom, trying to avoid looking directly into Ian’s face, and crouches down next to him. With shaking hands, he feels around Ian’s cost and pants pockets for the key he knows Ian keeps on his person at all times. He finds it in his left pant pocket and as he pulls it out, it drops and bounces uncomfortably close to Ian’s charred and bloody hand. 

Ruben takes the key with two fingers and grips it tightly in his palm. He finally manages to steal a glimpse at Ian’s face, and he sees nothing. No hatred, no anger, just foggy eyes void of anything. 

“I’m sorry, Jason,” he says quietly, standing back up. 

Ruben goes back upstairs and goes to the master bedroom, rummaging through drawers and the closet in search of anything he might need upon leaving the house-money, medication, ect. He finds his own carry on bag in the closet and upon opening it, he is shocked to find his wallet and passport still inside. He opens the passport holder and stares at the picture of a man without a scraggly beard, sunken in eyes, and little knicks and scars on his face that will never go away. 

He thinks about all of the scars on his body. The stab wound on his stomach (Ian was drunk, just trying to scare him, he didn’t mean to stab him), the lash marks on his back…

Relief and anger and sadness wash over him in waves and he finds himself sobbing uncontrollably. The bedroom and bathroom light he’s turned on suddenly flickers violently and Ruben can see the hairs on his arms standing up. 

\-----

The farmhouse is in the middle of nowhere and Ruben’s never really been outside, not except for the time he tried to escape and paid dearly for it. It’s dark out, but the fresh air and sound of night bugs and tall grass blowing makes Ruben’s heart swell. The sky is blanketed with stars. Ruben’s not sure if he’s ever seen stars like this outside of nature calendars. He walks in a blind direction, tripping every over his own feet a few times, hoping he’ll eventually find a road. 

After what seems like hours, he sees lights in the distance-headlights. He’s had time to think about this-how to flag down help and what to say. How to explain Ian’s body (though he knows it’s technically Jason’s body) and why he’s dead. He’s been missing for almost a year. What will people say? Do they think he’s alive?

He makes his way to the side of the road and the car slows down. Two men come out on either side, holding guns. They’re pointing the guns at him. 

“Hands where we can see them!” One of them directs. 

Ruben does as he’s told. 

“My name is Dr. Ruben Marcado,” he says shakily, his voice hoarse from being underwater and coughing and crying. “I’m from the US. I’ve been held captive here-in a-a-a farmhouse maybe five miles back that way.” 

He jerks his head in the direction from which he came.

One of the men takes a phone and speaks into it. “We got him.”

Ruben knows that whatever happens, he’s at least getting out of Jamaica. He’ll probably be taken into some sort of custody, questioned, sent back to the states, questioned some more. He’ll probably have to get an attorney. 

“Sedate him,” the one on the phone tells the other.

“Sedate him?” Ruben repeats quietly and shrinks back as the other man approaches him with a syringe.

“Dr. Marcado,” he instructs. “This is for your protection and mine. Keep your hands behind your head.”

Ruben doesn’t know what’s going on, but his heart begins to race and something else happens. It’s like he can feel something tingling all through him, and the man steps away from him. There’s some kind of light and Ruben looks around to see if more people had arrived-headlights or possibly flashlights. 

It’s then that he feels something jab into his neck and the sensation is gone.

His world goes black. 

\------

“Welcome home, Doctor.” 

Ruben comes to and there is a man sitting before him. Clean, pressed suit, one leg crossed over the other. 

“Home?” Ruben slurs, trying to sit up, but he can’t. He then realizes that his hands are bound to some kind of railing of a bed he’s on with soft straps. 

“It’s alright,” the man tells him without so much as lifting a finger as Ruben struggles faintly. “You’re restraints are there to protect everyone here. They’re made of a very special and very durable non-conductive material.”

Ruben is still panicked-he’s used to being restrained, but not for protection. Jason had drugged his tea and handcuffed him to the bed the first night in Jamaica. He did it almost every night until he had special locks and bars placed on the windows and doors. Ian often restrained him to hit him with items or just to simply kick him around a bit. 

“We’re going to take care of you,” the man says. “Don’t worry. You’re very lucky to be alive.”

“You said home,” Ruben says, still afraid. “Am I... _home_?” 

“In the good old US of A,” the man affirms. “We’ve had several doctors look you over. You’re in alright shape for someone who’s been what you’ve been through. Scars, yes, and a few cracked ribs, but nothing permanently damaged.”

Ruben relaxes into the pillow, willing his fists to unclench. He lets out a deep, shuddering sigh.

“Are you the FBI?” He asks.

“Nothing like that,” the man says. “And unfortunately for you, the FBI still thinks of you as a missing person, presumably dead. The same as Dr. Cole.”

Ruben blinks. Who is this man?

“Don’t worry,” the man says. “We’ve taken care of things. The farmhouse is as empty as the day it was before Ian rented it.”

“You work for Ian,” Ruben guesses. This is even worse. Someone must know about Blackout or something and decided to keep Ruben for their own shady drug dealing. 

“Wrong again,” the man says. “We’ve been following your work for a long time. What happened to the rats. What happened to Dr. Cole. There’s something in Blackout that brings out the most in the human body. It seemed to give Dr. Cole almost ‘superhuman’ strength.”

He gets up and rummages at a nearby table and returns with a file folder. He retrieves a photograph from it and holds it up so Ruben can see. It’s hard to make out and there’s a lot of blood, but when Ruben’s mind finally pieces it together, his blood runs cold.

“A man torn in half,” The man tells him. “Ian did this, and similar jobs. You’re very lucky to be in one piece.”

“The Blackout,” Ruben says, swallowing hard. “What did it do to me?”

At this point, he seems to just _know_ that this man is aware of everything. How? He’s not sure, but he knows, and at this point, it kind of makes him feel relieved. 

“I’m guessing that after that bout with the bathtub electrocution,” the man says. “The Blackout in your system kept you from dying, but you were also the conductor for all of that energy and now you seem to be the generator.”

Ruben’s brows furrows. 

“That’s impossible,” he says. “The heat to tissue alone would have killed me. Humans aren’t batteries. We can’t store energy that way. Not what you’re talking about.”

“Think of static electricity,” the man tells him. “It occurs naturally. You can shock yourself on a car door handle or taking laundry from the dryer. You seem to be able to spontaneously create a significant charge imbalance between yourself and things around you.”

He nods at Ruben’s bound hands. “We’re still trying to work out the kinks, but you’ve essentially given yourself super powers.”

“So what happens to me?” Ruben asks, slightly bitter. After everything he’s been through, one dose of Blackout is going to do him in? He can’t stay alive and be a danger to everyone around him. 

“That depends,” the man says, leaning forward and folding his hands under his chin. “Are you willing to let us help you? Are you willing to help us? Are you willing to stay dead a little longer until we get things sorted out?”

Ruben hesitates, but nods. 

“We’re the good guys, Dr. Marcado,” the man tells him. “Don’t worry. You’re working for the side of good now.”

“Can I ask for something?” Ruben asks as the man stands up. 

“Of course,” he replies. 

“My...family,” Ruben says, swallowing hard. “Can you let me know how they are?”

“Absolutely,” the man replies before leaving the small room.

Some time passes and someone in what looks like a biohazard suit enters the room. 

“I’m going to uncuff you,” they say. “This suit is just to protect me in case-”

“I shock you,” Ruben says. “Don’t worry. I get it.”

The person works at his bindings and when Ruben is free, he sits up in the bed. He notices that he’s wearing a soft t-shirt and cotton pants. His fresh cuts have been bandaged. 

“For the time being, Dr. Marcado,” the person says. “We would like you to wear these.”

He places something new on Ruben’s wrists. They’re heavy and hot and look similar to weightlifting wraps. 

“It won’t completely mute your abilities,” the person says. “But it will help everyone to stay safe.”

“What is this place?” Ruben asks him.

“Our organization is called Rochambeau,” they say, and finally take off the top of the suit. It’s the same man as before. “My name is Christian Lawless, and I want to talk to you about what we do and how you can help us.”

  
  
  


To Be Continued...


	4. Alvie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now things are getting interesting! Also, I'd like to introduce the new co-author of this story, break_so_beautifully. She has been a big help and will now be co-writing this fic. I think she's given this story a turn for the best! Make sure to let us know what you think so far and remember that we're always open to ideas!

****

**Alvie**

"I trust you'll keep our location secret," Lawless says, entering a code into a keypad. He looks at Alexander, waiting for confirmation. "This is serious business. A breach in security could result in serious trouble. I would hate for your firm to fall under fire or something happen to your housekeeper. I know one of her sons is overseas in the military. Be a shame if something happened to him."

"You should know, I never have done well with threats. But your point is well taken," Alexander replies. "I'll keep your secret. But don't expect loyalty, until you've actually proven that you've earned it. "

Lawless nods. When they go inside it looks no different than a normal multiple story office building. People are walking around with files and on phones. An older woman pushing a laundry cart catches Alexander's eyes and smiles.

"I'm going to introduce you to some others we've recruited. They're not like you. Their abilities are different."

"How so?" Alex asks, genuinely curious.

"Coffee?" Lawless asks, stopping at a little window counter with a barista.

Alexander rolls his eyes. "Sure. I've never met anyone like me anyways. Why should this be any different? And if you're not actually planning on sharing your secrets, I'm not sure why you swore me to secrecy back there."

Lawless orders two coffees and says, "One is a mind reader. It's nothing like in the comic books. We've tried to help mind readers before. They lose touch with reality. Imagine the loudest rock concert you've ever been to, and then magnify that by a thousand. That's every minute of every day."

He hands Alexander a coffee. "He's young. Only twenty-four. Runs a little bodega out of Manhattan. Hell, you've probably been there. The De la Vega bodega."

"Oh, yeah. I've totally been there. Great coffee..." Alexander trails off as he recalls the bodega owner that had a knack for knowing exactly how his customers wanted to take their coffee.

Huh. Guess that explains why the coffee was always perfect, he thought to himself.

"So, what's gonna happen to him? Is he gonna go crazy like all the rest? Or is he different? And when you say all the rest, how many gifted individuals are we talking about?"

"We've been in the US business since _you_ have and before that, other parts of Europe. Franklin told you about some of this. He started part of the program with the help of Washington. It wasn't a coincidence that the general had a special interest in you. It also wasn't coincidence that you were introduced to the Schuylers or the Reynolds. "

He gestures for them to keep walking.

"It's complicated- who we are and what we do. We want to help, but we also need to think of public safety. Who else might want to use these individuals for their own agenda? Sometimes the gifted want to use their abilities for the wrong reasons and they have to remain incarcerated here."

As they walk, he says, "I know you heard of the missing doctors from Philadelphia. Jason Cole and Ruben Marcado."

"Yes, I think the police feared the worst in that case. Most likely one killed the other or they killed each other. Are they involved? Gifted?"

Alexander sips at his coffee as they keep walking.

"Sort of," Lawless says. "Dr. Marcado was helping to create a drug to help with Dr. Cole's multiple personality disorder." He continues, "He created a powerful serum. Too powerful. It changed Dr. Cole's body chemistry. Gave him superhuman strength like the Incredible Hulk."

He pauses as if considering how best to explain what Dr. Cole has done with his abilities.

He adds, "Also not like the comics, Dr. Cole worked as a criminal drug lord and part time mobster. Ripped men in two-gruesome. Tore their heads off."

He sighs, stopping at the elevator. "Dr. Mercado changed his own body chemistry as well. He's home, but a threat to himself and everyone else."

He hesitates. "Some people are here because they _need_ to be. They're lost."

As they wait for the elevator to open, he says, "I don't think you'll entirely agree with our process, or even understand it, but we do what we have to protect society as a whole."

When they step in, Lawless says, "Your feelings won't change our process."

Alex nods, but he feels his guard rise. If he was unsure about trusting these people before, he's definitely wary now. What, no who, are they keeping here and why do they get to decide what or who is a threat to society? What gives them the right? Alex's mind drifts back once again to the revolution. Men should be free. But, as he'd seen many times in American history, things aren’t always that simple.

"We're going to meet Mr. De la Vega first."

"Lead the way," Alex replied casually. He can play his cards close to the chest too.

Lawless directs them to a door with another keypad. When it opens, it's a dimly lit room with a bed, a desk, and a television on the wall. There's a skinny young man sitting cross-legged on the bed wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt. He looks over at them and there are dark circles under his eyes like blood vessels had burst underneath.

"It's alright, Usnavi," Lawless says, his voice light and pleasant. "How are you feeling?"

" _My head kind of hurts,_ " Usnavi replies in Spanish. His voice is hoarse and small.

"Hmm..." Lawless says. "The drugs still have you switching back from English to Spanish. I'll get a nurse who can translate."

He looks at Alexander.

"Unless you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all, I'm rather gifted with languages. I can do it."

Usnavi looks between them.

"He says his head still hurts."

" _Are Vanessa and Sonny alright?"_

"He wants to know if Vanessa and Sonny are alright."

He uncrosses his legs, swinging them over the bed. " _Is my store alright?_ "

He then says something bizarre. " _Sonny's afraid to tell me he's gay. It's okay. I knew._ "

"He says that whoever Sonny is, that he's afraid to tell him he's gay, but he already knows and it's alright."

"Why does he keep talking? It's like he has no filter," Alex asks Lawless.

"Usnavi," Lawless says, going over to the bed. "Remember what we discussed? The exercises? Can you close your eyes? Remember the rain?"

He waits for Alexander to translate this and Usnavi says in Spanish " _I'm not speaking English?_ "

" _No, you're not, kid_ " Alexander replies and then translates as Lawless requested.

Lawless tells Alexander, "He came in at death's doorstep. Too many thoughts. We gave him some suppressants. Did some shock therapy, but his mind is trying to control all of these things and it's reverting to other parts of the brain."

He touches Usnavi's arm and looks at his eyes. "You seem to have more color."

Lawless calls for a doctor who comes in and takes his vitals. He gives him a shot.

" _Sonny's okay,_ " Usnavi says, voice slurring now. " _I love that kid. No matter what._ "

He lays down.

"We're still working on him," Lawless tells Alexander. "We may not bring him back entirely. It's hard to say."

"What do you mean bring him back? Like, is he addled? What's happened to the other mind readers? Did you say shock therapy? Isn't that rather barbaric? Don't you have better means of treating him?"

"Most mind readers don't make it before we reach them. They can't take the noise. Others become stuck in a vegetative like state."

He says something in a low voice to the doctor and then turns back to Alexander with forced cheerfulness.

"Let me introduce you to our newest resident, Dr. Marcado."

"Wait. So, what happened to Dr. Cole? Did Dr. Marcado indeed kill him?" Alex is asking a lot of questions and getting very few answers in return. It was unnerving. And irritating. 

"That's classified information," Lawless says simply. "Follow me."

They go to another floor and to a room at the very end of the hallway. The door not only has a keypad, but a heavy lock.

"When we go in," Lawless informs him. "You must stay behind the yellow line."

When the door opens, there's a bed at the far side of the room against the wall. A yellow line of tape goes across the concrete floor. The lights are brighter in this room and they flicker.

A small man with curly hair and a beard in need of a trim sits at a nearby desk with a journal. He's also wearing cotton pants but a large gray sweatshirt. On his wrists are what looks like weight training bands. He looks up, startling slightly.

"It's just me, Doctor."

Lawless holds up a hand.

"Hello." The man's voice is small. Afraid.

He looks at Alexander and then back at Lawless.

"What are you working on?" Lawless asks, moving to the edge of the yellow line.

"Just thoughts." Ruben shrugs. He stands up, smooths out his sweatshirt, but seems unsure of what to do next.

Lawless nods with fake casualness.

"Dr. Marcado, I'd like you to meet Alexander Saenz. He's, well he's a _consultant_ for the time being."

Ruben manages a half smile. "Nice to meet you."

He directs his attention back to Lawless.

"Um...I hate to ask _again_ , but have you been able to get any information on my family?"

"Ah, yes." Lawless snaps his fingers. "One of your sisters graduated. I'll have someone send a picture this way."

A strange look crosses Ruben's face. It's hurt.

"Mercedes graduated?" He asks quietly.

Lawless nods and says, "I can dig up video of the ceremony I'm sure. They're doing well."

Ruben nods, but he looks terribly sad. Lawless hurriedly pats Alexander on the arm. To Ruben he says, "I'll get those pictures to you by the end of the day for sure. Are you hungry? I can have the kitchen make you something. Anything you like."

Ruben shakes his head, going back to the desk.

"I'm good. Thank you."

Alex watches as Ruben sits heavily at the desk and absently starts thumbing back through his journal. There's a heavy sadness that hangs about him that looks nothing like the smiling picture he'd seen of the young man in the paper.

"Come on Alexander, we have one more guest to meet." Alex turns and follows Lawless towards the door. He looked back over his shoulder. If he'd have been a bit closer, he would swear that Dr. Marcado was crying.

"It was nice to meet you, Ruben. I hope to see you again soon," he calls.

Dr. Marcado doesn't respond.

Alex follows Lawless back out of the door and into the elevator. They go down one more floor, to the lowest level.

"The last person I want to introduce you to is a Mr. Juan Alvarez. But he just goes by Alvie. However, before I introduce you to him, we need to talk first," Lawless says. "Remember what I told you? That you may not understand things?"

"Yes..." Alex responds with trepidation.

"Juan Alvarez..." the elevator door dings. "I'm going to give it to you straight, Alex. He's unaware of his abilities. He's unaware of us. It's easier for him that way. Safer."

They step out.

"I need you to understand that sometimes we can't always make everyone happy." He says, "But Juan is happy. He's off the streets, he's cared for..." He sighs. "He thinks this is a mental health facility. I'm his psychiatrist." He goes to a door with yet another keypad. "And it's going to stay that way."

When the door opens, it's not a scene like with Usnavi or Ruben. A young man is painting on a canvas. There are splotches of color on his t-shirt and pants. He is wearing a large pair of headphones attached to an mp3 player and removes them when he sees there are visitors.

"Oh, hey Dr. Lawless!" He says in a bright, bubbly voice. "Thanks for the paints!"

"That's very beautiful, Alvie," Lawless says. "What is it?"

"I dunno." Alvie scratches his head. "I had this dream-this guy-this _cowboy_ is in this hot air balloon thing with a _rabbit_ and there's this massive storm! The storm was beautiful. Lightning all over the place! I just had to paint that storm!"

Lawless nods slowly. "I see. You know this man?"

Alvie shakes his head. "Nah. Never seen him before. It's not like the other dream. The one with the guy with lightning in his hands. I swear that guy musta been at my last ward or somethin' because I see him all the time."

He looks at Alexander. "Hello!"

"Hello. I'm Alexander. Nice to meet you."

"Alexander!" Alvie smiles big again. "Like Alexander the great or Alexander Graham Bell or ooh! Alexander Hamilton! Dude's on the ten-dollar bill I think. Great name. My name's Juan, but most people call me Alvie or JA-my stage name." 

He pauses for a breath. "What can I do you for, Doc?"

His smile turns more nervous now. "It's not...it's not a shock treatment day today, is it? Or a sleep study?"

"No, Alvie," Lawless says. "I just wanted to introduce you to a visitor. He's touring the grounds. I told him you were one of our most interesting residents."

"I could rap for you!" Alvie says. "Well, after I paint, I mean. I'm really into painting lately. I have sketchbooks too. Lots of them!"

"I like your paintings. Do you paint often? Or is that new? I'd love to hear you rap sometimes. I like rap music too." Alexander keeps the smile on his face for the buoyant young man's sake, but he has not liked what he's heard so far. Clearly the young man is not a fan of EST and what are they doing during these so-called sleep studies?

"I've always been an artist," Alvie replies. "But the painting is new."

He notices Lawless studying the painting.

"You like it?"

"Alvie," Lawless says instead. "I think tonight will be a sleep study night."

Alvie's smiling still, but he's also tugging at his short hair. "Oh."

"Let me make a call," Lawless says, and takes out his phone and steps a few feet away.

Alvie watches to make sure he's not listening and goes closer to Alexander.

"I _hate_ sleep studies," he says. "They put you to sleep with all of these probes, but I have bad dreams. Only during the sleep studies. I see real bad stuff like bombs goin' off and car crashes and-just bad stuff. When I dream in here-in my own bed, they're not so bad."

Lawless hangs up and Alvie skitters back to his original spot behind the canvas.

"Yes, Alvie," he says. "It _is_ a sleep study night. I'll go call a nurse with an early dinner."

"What time is it?" Alvie asks, frowning sadly. "Bed is always right after dinner. Ain't it too early?"

"How long have you been up?" Lawless asks. "Since five, right? It's a good time for bed."

He nods his head at Alexander. "Shall we continue our tour?"

"Yeah. I guess..." Alexander turned back towards Alvie. "It was nice to meet you, Alvie. Keep your head up, okay. And keep painting. You're good at it."

"Thanks, A dot, say, what's your last name. I didn't catch it?"

"It's Saenz. Alexander Seanz."

"Cool. See ya around Mr. A dot Saenz. And don't worry. I bounce back quickly. I always have."

Alexander's quiet as he follows Lawless back to the elevator. Lawless punches in the number for the floor with the conference room where they had started their tour. He leans against the wall of the elevator deep in thought as he absently rubs at his chin.

"His dreams. Juan Alvarez... they come true, don't they? Sometimes? Or always? And he was painting something he saw in his dreams. That's why you asked about the guy in the balloon with the rabbit."

"You're very astute aren't you, Mr. Saenz?"

"I tend to be very detail oriented."

"Hmm. "

"So, what do you want with me? I can see you like collecting people, but why me. I've just been around for a while. I can't do anything special. Not really."

"That's where I think you're wrong. But let's wait to have this discussion until we are back in the conference room. I don't want us to be overheard or interrupted."

Alex nods, still deep in thought as he mulls over each of the people he's met. Mr. De La Vega, the mind reader who is utterly overwhelmed. Dr. Marcado, he isn’t actually sure what his powers are, but Lawless believes he is dangerous to himself and others. But he is also brilliant. And broken. And then there is Alvie. A man who sees things before they happen, but didn't know he was anything other than a mental patient. Hmm...

He follows Lawless out of the elevator and back to the conference room.

He waits until Lawless has shut the door behind him and indicates that they should sit at the big table. Alex takes a seat and steeples his fingers in front of him.

"Well, what do you think, Alexander?"

"I have a lot of questions." He says. "Dr. Marcado, can he generate power or something? It's something powerful since you don't want anyone near him, am I right?"

"Yes, Dr. Marcado can create and manipulate electricity. And he has no way of controlling it yet. He's manageable with the suppressor cuffs we've put on him, but even with those, he could still hurt himself or others if he got close enough and was under enough stress."

"Okay, so back to my original question back in the elevator. What am I doing here?"

"I want to put together a team so that we can save the world." Lawless pauses, as if for dramatic effect, "And I want you to lead it."

"A team. I didn't see a team. I saw ridiculously talented people being held prisoner and their powers being wasted. You need to get Dr. Marcado out of that cell and put him to work. He's your missing piece. The man is brilliant. He's been broken, and what you're doing is only traumatizing him further. I don't know what's happened to him, but he needs a purpose. And he needs to be given a job. Why not task him with figuring out how to help Mr. De La Vega, have him help with his own suppressors if that's what he wants. And have him help with whatever is wrong with Alvie."

"See, this is why I need you to lead. I'm not sure we can implement all that you are saying. Some of these people are dangerous. And we're still finding more of them. This man in the balloon, he may be our next asset. That's usually how it works. Alvie is the one that's led us to all of you. He's patient zero."

"No. If I'm going to lead... What do you mean he's patient zero? How long have you had him?"

"Alvie? A while. But you have to understand, his gift is so powerful his own mind can't cope with it. He was a ranting homeless man. His very loud rantings were calling attention to the fact that he saw things before they happened. There were bad people that tried to get their hands on him. We only just got to him in time. He saw 9/11 before it happened. He saw the London bombings. He would roam the streets raving about things that hadn't happened yet. And then he would see them in real life, and it would snow ball his inability to cope outside of these walls. Here he's safe and contained and no one can hurt him."

"But you're hurting him. He doesn't like what you do to him. It's not right."

"I told you your opinion wouldn't change our process."

"Your methods are holding them back. All of them."

He adds, "If you want me to lead you have to let me lead my way. And my way is not going to ever include EST, and locked doors. They’re all terrified and they want their families."

"What would you do with them? Mr. De La Vega can't function in society right now. His mind is on the verge of shattering."

"So, let's get them out of the city. Somewhere hyper isolated but with the means to communicate electronically with the outside world. I would need minimal personnel. We'll take care of our own. They need to trust me and each other. That's never going to happen here. You can even set a security perimeter around us if you like, but I want it to be at least a mile away. Find me one square mile where we can live and train. I'll get you team. But not here. That's the deal. Take it or leave it. But I won't be part of further traumatizing these poor men. You've promised them help and you've given them a prison. It's thoroughly un-American! And the way you're going about it will fail."

"Well, don't be shy about your opinions, Alexander. You never have been."

Alex looks at him with his head cocked to the side. He can't put his finger on it...

"I'll make some calls. See what I can do." Lawless finally says. "You will stay with us while we work this out. I have a room for you-"

"Yeah I'll bet you do." Alexander rolls his eyes.

"No locks. At least not on your door."

He stands up "Come along. I'll show you to your room. It may take a couple of days. And that's not a guarantee."

"Fine. But I wanna meet one on one with each of my people. Privately. That includes Alvie. I need to see where each of them is coming from. Alvie is going to be the toughest to crack, but who knows, maybe he just needs a friend."

"I'll arrange it."

\----

When Alexander is shown to his room and he is looking around to check for bugs (the spying kind, not the insects), someone knocks before entering a code on the keypad. His heart all but stops when he turns around to see who comes in.

"Hello." A beautiful young woman smiles at him. "Agent Lawless said you had a few requests? I'm going to go over some rules of the facility with you if that's alright."

She frowns slightly when she sees he is just staring at her, mouth open slightly.

"Is that alright?" She tries again.

"Eliza..." he whispers.

She points to her clip-on badge. "Oh. It's Phillipa actually. Everyone calls me Pippa actually." She shrugs. "Or Agent Sain. She smiles sweetly again and holds up her reader device. "Might we go over them? Is it alright if I sit on the bed?"

She tucks some dark hair behind her ear and notices Alexander's eyes are starting to water.

"I can always come back," she says, gesturing to the door. "Can I get you anything? Coffee or tea...?"

"Uh... Tea. I'll take some tea. It's late for coffee and I have a feeling I'm going to want to sleep tonight. Oh, wait. Can you find out if it's possible for me to sit in on that sleep study they're doing with Juan Alvarez? Uh, patient zero?" Alexander stares at her again and then asks, “You said your last name was Sain?"

"Yes, why?" She moved to sit next to him on the bed. 

"You... You just remind me of someone I used to know. But that was a long time ago. She's been gone for a very, very long time."

"Oh, you lost her. I'm so sorry."

Alex nods. Wow this was a lot to take in. But he is certain. After all this time, this is Eliza, his Eliza sitting next to him on the bed.

"So, do you mind if I go over the rules for this facility?"

"Not at all. Please, enlighten me."

He listens without really hearing as her voice washes over him. A voice he never thought he would hear again. A voice he hasn't heard in over 200 years and yet he can recall it as if it were yesterday now that she’s talking. It's surreal.

"I believe Mr. Lawless informed you that cell phones are prohibited?" She starts. "You may have it off the grounds, but not on the grounds."

She shows him the reader. "And you are not allowed to leave the floor without an escort, and of course anything and everything about this facility is top secret."

She smiles again. "Not so bad, right?"

She notices he's just _staring_ at her again. She touches his hand.

"I'll ask about sitting in on the sleep study," she says. "And I'm sorry. For your loss, I mean."

"Thank you," he manages to get out. "As I said, it was a long time ago."

She turns to leave and just as she reaches the door he calls after her, "Will I see you again? Maybe you could be my escort?"

"That would be nice. I'll have to see. But, yes, you'll see me again. I'll be around, Mr. Saenz."

Alex quirks a half smile at her. This is the most unreal thing that has ever happened to him.

"See you around." She smiles at him and closes the door.

\---

Sometime later, and with much hesitation, Lawless agrees to let Alexander sit in on the sleep study session. It's a bed in the middle of a room, which would be weird for anyone, Alexander thinks-like an operating table. There are two attendants in the room and a machine on wheels and a smart board on the wall.

"Hey, Doc." Alvie comes into the room with an orderly. He looks sad. And afraid.

"Good evening, Alvie," Lawless says. "I hope your dinner was pleasant."

"Oh, yeah." Alvie seems to know the drill and rolls up his sleeve for a shot they already have ready for him. "Just cereal. That's all I wanted, but it was Lucky Charms and I love Lucky Charms."

"I'm glad," Lawless says. "Are you alright with Mr. Saenz sitting in on the sleep study?"

"Sure." Alvie sits down on the bed and the attendants begin sticking probes around his head.

"I think we should up the dose this evening," one of the attendants says to Lawless. "It might give us more."

"The high dosage could potentially cause more stress to the subject's body," the second argues. "And besides, when we're forcing them, we miss data points."

"Lie back please," the first attendant tells Alvie. She hooks some kind of IV into his arm and he begins drumming his fingers on the bed.

"Alvie," Lawless says, walking over to the side of the bed. "I know you don't like it, but with a higher dosage this evening, we'll be using the restraints."

"But you don't anticipate nightmares?" Alvie guesses hopefully, allowing his wrists to be restrained with straps to the railing of the hospital style bed.

"It will be fine," Lawless tells him. He turns to the attendant. "I think we need a stronger sedative this time too."

"Hey!" Alvie smiles drowsily at Alexander. "It's Alexander Hamilton the Great! How're you?"

He is given another shot and Lawless says softly but sternly, "Start counting, Alvie."

"Right. Ninety-nine. Ninety-eight. Ninety-seven."

He's out before ninety. The smart board on the wall turns on and from then on out it's just silence. For nearly forty minutes, Alvie is just sleeping, but then he begins to squirm.

"The other world..." he slurs in his sleep. "The portal. Lyra. She's gone. Gotta find Lyra. Ian… the storm. The storm is the gate."

The things that he's saying appear on the board via a recording system. Lawless looks at the notes on the board.

"He painted a storm," he says. "Have those names come up before?"

"No," the attendant says.

Alvie is violently thrashing now. He's trying to get out of the bonds, raising his body the best he can.

"Eliza! Save Eliza! She's bleeding!"

"Another name," the attendant says. "Take note of that one."

Lawless looks at Alexander. "It'll go on for hours like this. Are you ready to return to your room?"

"No. I... I wanna see. All of it. How do you know when it's over? What is Alvie like after something like this? What did you dose him with? Why can't you just use the probes and his regular dreams? Why force it out of him?"

In truth, Alex has only been half listening, and not liking what he saw. But then Alvie said Eliza's name. His ears perked up. He isn’t talking about his Eliza, from the past. She died peacefully in her sleep. There was no blood. Could he be talking about Agent Sain?

"You've heard of 'life flashing before your eyes' when you die?" Lawless asks. "It's a chemical in the brain, DMT. Your mind dumps a lot of it close to death. We recreated that chemical in a lab-imagine it like a strong psychedelic drug. We dose him with it, and it intensifies his visions. He has visions naturally through sleep, but with the DMT drug, they're intensified. We can get a lot more information. It's time-efficient."

Alvie's sobbing now and one of the attendants speaks up again. "He never reached NREM. Should we wake him?"

"No," Lawless says. "Keep going."

"Without NREM," The attendant argues weakly. "He's not sleeping. He's just having the visions. It might cause damage."

"Remove the IV," Lawless relents. "When he wakes, give him a normal sedative and put him to bed please."

He looks at Alexander, who looks like he wants to punch him in the face.

"I told you that you may not agree with our methods, but without him, people can and will die. Bad things will happen if we aren't aware of them."

"You could be perpetuating his illness because you're impatient. Haven't you thought about what this does to Alvie? This can't possibly be what's best for him? No matter what kind of info you get from him. This can't be the best scenario."

This is why he needs to leave and take his team with him. They need peace, quiet, isolation and safety. Damn! They're all so damaged. He needs them to trust and there's no way this will work here. Not when there's no oversight and these people are free to do whatever the hell they want to them. No, he needs to get them away from here, where all that's happened is that they've been subjected to further trauma.

Dr. Marcado, he keeps thinking. He has to be the key. He has the background to solve some of these issues. Hell, he might have the ability to solve his own issues if only he had someone who believed he could. That gave him some support, instead of second guessing every step he makes.

Alexander watches with sad and frustrated eyes as Alvie is taken out of the room for his basement quarters. How long has it been since the unfortunate psychic has seen the sun? Not just a picture of the sun, or film of it, but the real thing?

\---

Alexander paces in his room. It's been three days since Alvie's sleep study, and he hasn't been allowed off his floor. He hasn't been provided an escort, and most frustratingly, he hasn't been allowed to meet with his people like Lawless promised. Maybe he spooked him with all his questions? Maybe it's nothing, and Lawless is just working out the kinks of getting the things that Alex had requested. A facility for all of them a mile away from everything? That was a big ask, but not impossible. Perhaps it's just taking longer. If only there were some way to know. 

The solution slaps him in the face just as Eliza, no, not Eliza, Agent Sain knocks on his door. They've met daily for coffee or tea, depending on the time of day she was able to meet him.

"Hey, Pippa. What did you bring me today?

"I have a fantastic oolong and ginger tea. Does wonders for digestion."

"Sounds delicious. I love ginger teas."

She prepares two cups of tea for them to drink together. Alex has to be smart about this.

"Hey, listen, I would like to talk to Mr. De La Vega today. Mr. Lawless said that I could interview my team. I also know you guys have been short staffed and unable to provide me an escort. Do you... Do you think you could escort me? You could even lock the door if you were worried. I don't know what I would do as Mr. De La Vega can't be out in the open with all the people in the city. It's not like we could go anywhere... I'm just anxious to get the ball rolling on this project."

"I'd have to clear it with my supervisor, but if it was around the end of my shift, I don't think that would be a problem."

She smiles. "You were big talk around here, you know. A _re-gen_ that's what they call those with your ability."

She tucks some hair behind her ear. "Is it lonely? All that time?"

"Yeah, a lot of the time. Especially when you start forgetting the ones that matter. I... I didn't know you knew about me. That day that we met, and I said you reminded me of someone. I didn't know you knew that I am an immortal. A re-gen as you called it."

Alexander blushes. What the hell? he hasn't blushed in, what, maybe 100 years? He feels like a schoolboy with a crush. He looks down, hiding his expression from her. Maybe she didn't notice. He takes another sip-maybe he can blame the heat in his cheeks on the heat in the tea.

"Oh, I don't. Know about you. Not really. I just know that you can regenerate your cells involuntarily, which essentially means you can't die. They said when they brought you in that they cut you to prove that their suspicions were correct. I'm sorry about that. Sometimes, they do things here... I understand why, but I don't always like them. They said they cut your cheek and then a minute later, there was not a mark on you.

"It's true. They did. I would have done it for them, they didn't have to do it against my will. However, it didn't hurt, so no harm no foul, I guess.

"Is it true that you're over one hundred years old?"

"Agent Sain, I am well over 200 years old. I fought with General Washington in the Revolution."

"Oh my god. You really are him?"

"Who?"

"I heard Lawless call you Hamilton. You... You're Alexander Hamilton? _The_ Alexander Hamilton."

Alex stands and bows, like he hasn't in years. "At your service."

Now it's her turn to blush and she was all the more beautiful for it. He smiles. He's missed that.

He takes her fingers in his hand and kisses them as he would have had they been courting back in his heyday. She giggles.

"I can see why you were so popular with the ladies," she says and then lowers her voice and flashes a mischievous look. "Unless you've just had years of practice."

"Ha! I have, but again, it's been a very long time." He winks at her from under his eyelashes.

She holds her tea with two hands and crosses her legs at the ankles.

"Why did you never marry again? Raise another family?" She asks, not suspiciously, just genuinely curious.

“There was never another girl for me other than my Eliza. My Betsy. Apparently, those only come along once in a lifetime and I have had an incredibly long life. And raise another family? I have a family, I have kept an eye on my descendants. I occasionally made sure that they received windfalls or something. But, be involved directly with another family. No, it’s much too painful to have to watch from a distance. To never be able to hold them once they believed me gone from this life. It was bad enough to outlive each of my children one by one. And then grand-children and great grandchildren that I never even got to hold. Not once. I would not be able to do that again unless it was with Eliza herself. She was my equal, unlike anyone I’ve ever met.”

He looks down at his now empty tea cup and smiles as gentle memories that he’s not been able to recall in decades come floating back to him. He glances over at Pippa who is just watching him. 

“You miss her, terribly?”

“Every minute of every day since 1804. Huh, that’s got to be some sort of record. Over 200 years of pining for a lost love.”

“They say the souls of those we love always come back to us. Perhaps you will find her again. You’ve waited this long.”

“Indeed, perhaps you’re right.” He smiles at her. 

“Well, I have to get back to work. But, I’ll see if I can escort you. I know you must be bored sitting around here.” She pauses at the door. “I tell you what, I’ve acted as an escort for other visitors. I’ll be back at the end of my shift and I’ll take you to Mr. De La Vega.”

“Thank you. When does your shift end?”

“I have about three hours left, can you wait that long?”

“As you said, I’ve waited this long.” 

She raises an eyebrow at him. “Indeed. See You then.”

“A pleasure as always, Agent Sain.”

She closed the door softly behind her. 

\----

Alex paces, and tries to sleep, and paces some more. He is never good with confinement. Even though his door isn’t locked, like the rest of his unfortunate team, there is absolutely nothing interesting in the hallway. A windowless corridor. At least in his room he has a window. None of the others are that lucky - cement cells with nothing more than a bed, maybe a desk and a chair. And maybe a TV, but that is no guarantee. And there is something about this Lawless character… Something familiar, but Alex just can not put his finger on it. It’s like he is missing a puzzle piece somewhere. It’s right there, just out of reach. Alex knows he’ll figure it out. He always does. It’s just a matter of time. 

At last, there is a knock on his door and Agent Sain is back and smiling at him. 

“Are you ready to go talk with Mr. De La Vega? I’ll escort you down there and then wait outside the door so you can talk. Usnavi doesn’t do well with multiple people in the room for very long.”

“That sounds perfect.” Alex offers her his arm, “Shall we?”

“Oh, well thank you. Lets go.”

They walk down the corridor arm in arm and Alex is flooded with memories. Memories he has long since thought gone for good. 

They step into the elevator and Pippa presses the button for the floor where they’re holding Mr. De La Vega. Alex makes a mental note of what floor he’s on. He wants to know where his people are. That way, he can’t be surprised by being taken to the wrong floor and locked in his own cell. 

They walk down another windowless corridor to the Usnavi’s room and Agent Sain inputs the code. Alex makes a mental note of that as well. 

“Hi, Usnavi,” she says softly. “Mr. Saenz would like to speak with you. Is that alright?”

“Sure, I guess.”

“Are you feeling okay? How’s your headache?”

“It’s manageable today, thank you. Any word on when I get my phone call home?”

“No, not yet. I’m so sorry. I know you wanna talk to that girl of yours and your cousin. I’m sure Mr. Lawless will get back to you about it soon.”

“Yeah, sure. Hopefully.” He doesn’t look like he believes a word of it Alexander thinks. 

Pippa steps aside to let him into the room. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

Alexander looks at the young man sitting cross legged on the bed staring at him. 

“You don’t think you are supposed to be here,” Mr. De La Vega says quietly. “Did they lie to you too?”

Alex glances back to where he can see the back of Agent Sain’s head outside the window to the cell. And it is a cell. 

“In a manner of speaking. Would you like to tell me how they lied to you.”

“They said they can make me better. They took me from my girl, Sonny, Benny, my whole life. They said I could talk to them any time I wanted. But they don’t. I’m still hearing too much and it’s been weeks… I think. I don’t like having to stay in this room. They said it’s lead lined or something and that it shuts out the voices. But it doesn’t shut them all out.”

“Who do you hear?”

“Anyone who even comes close to this room. That girl out there thinks you’re cute, by the way.”

“Hey, stay out of her head or leave her business private, yeah?”

Usnavi shrugs with a grin on his face. “Okay, but you think she’s cute too, just saying.” He throws his hands up in surrender. “ I also can hear anyone whose thoughts are loud or… or disturbed.”

“Any specific ones, like recurring characters?”

“You have a lot of thoughts. And they go back and recall things that you shouldn’t be able to recall. Do you read minds too?”

“No. I’m just much older than I appear.” _If he only knew how old I really was._ And then his mind drifted back to George Washington. A few scenes from battles he’d been in with John Laurnes or Lafayette crept into his mind and then a sweet memory that he hadn’t thought about in ages of him and Eliza on their wedding day and how she used to call him simply, Hamilton.

“Oh my god! You’re Alexander Hamilton. You just thought that! You thought, if he only knew and then I saw flashes from your life. Jesus, are you really Alexander Hamilton? The guy on the ten dollar bill?” Usnavi studied him closer as if to get a sense of if he looked like his portrait on the money.

“So, I guess there’s no sense in lying to you.”

“You’re immortal.”

“Indeed. Now, we both know about me. I’m trying to help you, but to do that, I need to know more about you and some of the others that are here.”

Usnavi must pick up on his sense of urgency. “Let me see them. Who do you need to know about?”

Hamilton quickly recalls the faces and names of Dr. Marcado and Juan Alvarez. He doesn’t say anything. It’s a sort of test and he knows that Mr. De La Vega is going to know that it’s a test. 

“Ah, those two. They’re two of the loudest here. Alvie is… bipolar. That’s what he thinks, or has been told, but it’s not just that. He suspects there’s something else, but no one has ever told him and he doesn’t ask. He likes to be upbeat and positive, but his mind is a mess. He sees things. Things that haven’t happened yet. You know I’m not supposed to know any of this and I’m not sure that they even know that I know all of this.”

 _I sort of thought that might be the case,_ Alex thinks in his head. He doesn’t say anything out loud. _It’s why I came to talk to you. I knew you were the one that could tell me what I wanted to know. Keep going, we may not have much time._

“Right, okay. So, he sees these things in his dreams. Some nights are worse than others and he dreads them. The sleep studies. It’s like they put him into a waking nightmare. Those are the times he feels most powerless. He knows he doesn’t get a say in it, so he doesn’t fight it, but the poor guy will have vivid nightmares for days. They drug him afterwards, so they don’t know. It hurts him.” Usnavi finishes with a frown on his face. 

_And Dr. Marcado?_

“Oh, funny thing about him and Alvie. Alvie sees him all the time in his visions. I wondered who he was for the longest time. I even thought that I recognized his face from somewhere. And then when they brought him in and I heard his thoughts through my floor I realized he was one of those missing doctors that was in the news a while back. Blew my mind when I put two and two together. Alvie would be on cloud nine if he knew that guy was here.”

_Hmm… that’s very interesting. Tell me more about Marcado._

“Right. That man has seen some pain. Poor guy. Who ever Dr. Cole was… I get confused about him because he’s two people in Ruben’s mind. Sometimes he's Jason, and sometimes he’s Ian.”

_Lawless said that Dr. Marcado was trying to help Dr. Jason Cole with his multiple personality disorder._

“Oh, okay. Yeah, that sort of explains some of that. Anyway, That Jason/Ian character sort of kidnapped him and held him for months. He was trying to make something he calls the kill drug. He made it, but at the wrong time and Ian, the bad one… He’s the one that beat and tortured him all while they both kept him locked up. Well, Ian was the one around when he finished his drug. Ruben hid, but Ian found him and tried to kill him. This is where things get weird with Dr. Marcado. He didn’t die. Instead, he developed powers himself. And… I think that Ian guy died. He looks dead in Dr. Marcado’s mind.”

_And his mental state? Is he stable or is he more like Alvie?_

“No, he’s stable. He’s just very, very sad. And he misses his family. For some reason he’s been told that the world needs to think he's dead and that's why he hasn’t got to talk to his family. I don’t think they realize how low he is. The guy has nightmares every night and he wakes up alone in a room crying. He’ll get off of his bed and huddle in the corner, rocking, so that he doesn’t go back to sleep. It’s awful the stuff that was done to him. It’s why he always wears a sweater. He’s got mad wicked scars covering his body. He’s lonely.”

A sad look comes over Usnavi’s face. 

_What? What is it?_

“I’m lonely too. I haven’t talked to Vanessa or Sonny. I keep asking about them and when I get my phone call, but they never tell me. I know it’s been over a week this time. I’m worried they’re going to do something like tell my family _I_ died and keep me here like Ruben. I… I can’t do that. Sonny’s the only family I have left and I can’t leave him alone in the world like that. And Vanessa. It’s not fair.” He looks up at Alex and their eyes loc. “Can you help me? I want to get better and I’ll do whatever they think is best so that I don’t go crazy, but it's not working here. I like your idea better.”

_My idea? Which one?_

“The one where you take us away from here. Somewhere quiet, not in the city. Not… not locked up like a lab rat.”

_Oh, right. That’s sort of why I’m here. Do you think it could work?_

“I’d like to try it, though I would advise keeping a tracking monitor on Alvie. He has a history of running. So, in that sense, it would be for his own safety. Lawless wasn’t wrong when he said that bad people had tried to get to him. I saw it in his head.”

 _Oh, good to know. Thanks._

“They’re coming. Lawless I mean. He knows you’re here. Are you gonna be okay? Are you going to be able to help us?”

“I hope so,” he says out loud. “Is there anything I should know about Lawless?” 

To Be Continued...


	5. Lee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the wonderful feedback! We love the comments and questions and ideas. The interaction really motivates us and gives us great ideas! Welcome, Lee Scoresby to Team Linvengers!

**Chapter 5: Lee**

Lyra pulls her hat tightly to her head, the wind raging. Lee works quickly to get the airship prepared.

"Can't I help with something?" She asks and then jumps slightly as thunder sounds. Pan crawls into her coat.

"No. Just stay down in the basket. You're safer there." 

"I can help," she argues, startled by more thunder.

"No! For once will you just stay put!" 

There's a deafening roar as lightning shoots right past them so close Lee could reach out and touch it. Lyra throws her hands over her ears. 

"Lee, perhaps you ought to consider setting down. You know we can't pilot that well in a storm and this is way bigger than any storm we've ever seen," Hester shouts at him over the sound of the storm.

"I know that, Hester. But somehow this thing blew up around us and now we're here. I can't even see the ground, let alone get to it yet!"

Lyra is a little worried by the force in his voice, but she can tell he's worried. She goes to him and holds onto him. She's only done this once before, crying after Billy Costa's death, but now she's scared. Something feels off about this, like it's not a normal storm. A gust of wind blew hard against the balloon, battering it's rigging and sending it careening further up into the air, wildly pitching the basket from side to side in chaotic circles.

Lyra holds desperately onto Lee's waist and Lee clings to the rigging. Hester makes a mad jump then burrows herself down into Lee's jacket so that she won't get separated from him. That last gust of wind is a doozy. Lee has never felt so out of control of his balloon. He can feel Hester squirming against him under his jacket, her head pokes out of his collar. In all the chaos, it feels good to have her there, right next to him.

He sees Pan clinging to Lyra as well, he's in ferret form, his claws knotted into her shirt. Lee can normally swing through the bars and rungs of his balloon with expert form, but even he is having a hard time making the jumps in this sudden, enormous storm. The ship starts to tilt, making them both lose their footing. Lyra screams and clings onto him as they both fall.

\--- 

There are bright lights and sounds. People talking. Lee struggles to open his eyes, but everything is blurry. Something covers his mouth. He smells something sweet. It makes him sleepy and confused again. 

"Prepare him for transport," someone says.

"Blood pressure is good. Injuries are minor. Call Lawless." 

He can feel Hester close to him, breathing heavily. Her little nose tickles his jaw. Lee opens his eyes long enough to see red and white lights.

\--- 

He wakes up again, but he's now in a bed. He starts to sit up and jerks back. One of his hands is handcuffed to the railing. There's a man standing nearby in a suit, talking quietly with a doctor in a white coat.

"Ah, good, you're awake," the man says.

Hester is there on the bed too, fluffed up in her nervous fashion. 

He approaches the bed and says, "Your ribs might hurt a bit, and you have an arm fracture."

"As of right now you're a John Doe, but an important one. May I have your name?" he asks.

"The name's Lee. Lee Scoresby. Who are you so I can know who I'm going to have to kill when we get outta here. I don't like bein' locked up. And seein' as I've done nothing wrong except get blown off course, this is not going to end well for you if you don't let us go." He looks around the room. "Where are we? Some sort of new, high tech Magisterium prison? You gonna experiment on us like you did those kids in the North?"

"Lee Scoresby," The man says to the doctor who nods and walks away. 

The man sits down in a nearby chair and says, "My name is Christian Lawless. I work for an organization known as 'Rochambeau'. We knew exactly where you would land and exactly what time."

Another person comes in, a woman, and she's looking on a reader device. "Your name is Lee Scoresby?" She asks. "Could you spell that?"

"You won't find it," Lawless tells her, but he's looking at Lee. "He's not from here."

"Where's Lyra?" Lee asks with a jerk against the hand cuffs. "If you hurt that little girl, if you even lay a hand on her, you won't live to see the sunrise."

"Send in Mr. De la Vega," Lawless says. "And Alvie." 

"Alvie's not doing well," she says quietly.

"I don't care about anyone else. And I won't talk to anyone else until I see Lyra. She's the only one you better be sending into this room." 

Hester hops further up the bed and sits by his shoulder, nuzzling at his temple. A few moments later, someone else in a suit brings in another man. He seems very nervous and there are dark circles under his eyes. 

"Mr. De la Vega," Lawless says cheerfully. "I hope you're doing well."

Usnavi smiles a little nervously and looks at Lee.

"Remember what we talked about," Lawless tells him, standing up. "Remember the exercises." 

Usnavi sighs shakily and says, "And then I can call Sonny?"

"And then you can call Sonny," Lawless agrees.

"Mr. Scoresby," He says. "This is Usnavi De la Vega. He means no harm. I need you to remain still."

Usnavi approaches the bed, kind of wary of this man he doesn't know who looks incredibly wary and hostile of him. He holds out his hands and Lee tenses.

"Please," Usnavi says quietly. "So I can talk to my kid."

His eyes are tired and sore looking. Something about the quiet desperation in his voice causes Lee's heart to clench and he agrees, allowing the young man to take his hand. 

"Alvie's in no shape to leave his room," the woman tells Lawless, a pained look on her face. She heads for the door, eyebrows raised in a questioning fashion.

Lawless nods at her.

Usnavi takes his hand and closes his eyes. "Can I touch your head?" he asks, sounding a bit awkward. "It might be easier." 

"I suppose, if it'll get me answers quicker and out of these damn cuffs. I ain't done nothin' wrong, as I said earlier. I don't know who you people are or what you want, but let's just get this over with and then you either bring Lyra to me or me to her, deal?" 

Usnavi glances nervously at Lawless.

"Mr. Scoresby," Lawless says. "With Usnavi's help, we can help you find Lyra."

Usnavi very gingerly places his hands on Lee's temples and closes his eyes. He winces slightly and when he pulls back, there are tears running down his cheeks. 

"You lost her," he says quietly.

"Who is she?" Lawless asks. Usnavi ignores him. He touches Lee's temples again. "She's alive. She's sleeping. Someone is with her." He then opens his eyes again and his brows furrow. He takes a step back and looks at Hester. He looks between Lee and the rabbit.

"Usnavi?" Lawless sounds slightly impatience. 

"You're connected," Usnavi says. "...why?" He shakes his head. "How?"

Lawless says, "Usnavi. What did you get?"

Usnavi ignores him again and touches Lee's head again, but this time just with one hand. He hasn't tried this before.

 _Can you hear me? Just nod if you can._

From the journals given to him from other telepaths and doctors that have worked with them, he's been able to learn how they control certain thoughts and speak without words.

"What the hell!" Lee says, startling as Usnavi's voice enters his brain. He then settles himself, looks straight at the young man and nods.

_I'm a mind reader. They have me captive here. Me and some others. You have an ability. They want it. If you want to save Lyra, you have to play along. Say you want to speak with Alexander. Lyra is alive, but someone has her._

Lee nods. "I'd like to speak with Alexander. He's the only one I'll trust at this point. If you can't bring me Lyra. Bring me Alexander.”

Lawless looks at Usnavi suspiciously, but nods. 

Usnavi takes a step back and Lawless says, "Take him back to his room." 

"No! You want something from me. So, he stays. _Just_ him. And Alexander. I don't like you right now. You have me handcuffed to a bed."

"We have you handcuffed because we don't know who you are," Lawless says sternly. He looks at the woman. "Take him."

“Sonny?" Usnavi says hopefully. 

"When I can trust you not to do what you feel is necessary versus what you were instructed to do," Lawless tells him. "then you'll get your call."

"That isn't fair," Usnavi says, his voice cracking. “You promised when you brought me here that I could talk to them whenever I wanted. I want to talk to him now! It’s been over a week.”

"Take him to his room."

A male agent comes in with Alexander and just as the agent starts to take Usnavi's arm, Alexander says, "Don't."

He looks at Lawless. "My team, remember, Lawless? That's what you said." 

The agent releases Usnavi at Lawless' nod. 

"It's your team," Lawless relents neutrally. "This is Lee Scoresby."

 _He's not from here_ , Usnavi tells Alexander telepathically. _He's from another world, but I've looked into Lawless' head. He knows that. He knows A LOT about it. Tell him you need to speak to us privately._

_Well, this is new, Mr. De La Vega. When did you find out you could do this?_

Alexander turned to Lawless. "I need to speak with my team privately, please. No one else, including you." He leaned in close to Lawless' ear. "They need to trust me. And they don't trust you." 

"I'm not sure about this," Lawless murmurs in reply. "We don't know anything about this man. Also, if the rabbit is separated from him, they both struggle physically. It's very odd."

"I'll get to the bottom of it. It appears this is all about trust. Do you trust me? You're the one that brought me in to lead. Let me do this my way."

Lawless nods and one of the agents uncuffs Lee, who finally sits up and rubs at his sore wrist. He only then notices he's in different clothes. Simple, soft shirt and pants, no shoes or socks. There's a cast on his arm. 

"Where's my gear? My hat? Jacket? Guns?" 

Usnavi pipes softly up, "They took my hat too."

"Look, gentleman, we've all ended up here not by our own choices. So, let's get down to business. Mr. De la Vega, if you please." 

_They're hurting Alvie_ , Usnavi tells Alexander, making pointed eye contact with him. _Right now._

"Mr. Lawless!" Agent Sain runs back into the room. 

"We need you on Level 5!" Lawless turns to the door. He looks back at Alexander, hesitating. 

_What are they doing to Alvie?_ Alexander asks.

 _Who is Alvie? Why does everyone keep talking about him?_ Lee asks. 

_He's on a manic low_ , Usnavi tells them. _That's what it's called...what they're saying. He's fighting visions. They're forcing him with shock therapy. There's a gun on Lawless' left side._

He looks at Lee and then at Lawless, who's turned around talking to Sain.

"This will destroy his body," Sain whispers shakily. "Please have them call it off."

"Alvie will be fine," Lawless tells her in a hushed tone, taking her shoulders. "He's stronger than he looks. I trust our team."

Usnavi looks at Alexander. _If we can get Ruben, he can shut this whole grid down. All we gotta do is get the bands of his wrists. Get Alvie. We all get out of here. Lee can get the gun._

 _Damn Lawless,_ Alexander asserts. _I told him that that would not be good for him. It's barbaric. I think I can get Agent Sain to help us. Can you handle a gun Lee? I know we just met you, but if Usnavi trusts you, then I do. It would be impossible for him to misjudge your character._

_Sain will help us, she’s an empath,_ Usnavi tells him. _She can feel everything he’s feeling; everything they’re doing to him._

Lee looks at him. _I've been handlin' firearms since before I could crawl._ _Just say the word._ _Let’s go get this kid._

"It's going to kill him," Sain says, her eyes starting to water. "Please call it off."

"I need you to trust my decisions," Lawless tells her, cupping her cheek. 

Lee grabs Lawless by the collar of his suit jacket and grabs the gun from the holster on his waistband.

Sain screams and raises her hands. 

"What now?" Lee asks, turning to Alexander and Usnavi. He grabs Lawless, gun held in the air. "We need a plan, y’all!" 

"Please don't shoot!" Sain says, crying now. 

"Pippa! They're not going to hurt you. We just wanna stop them from hurting Alvie." Alex reassures, taking he arm and pulling her close to him. "Can you help us?" he whispers in her ear. "We need to get to Ruben," he adds, searching her terrified face.

She nods and Lee releases Lawless long enough to grab him and half drag him to the bed. He uses the cuff that's still on the bed and shackles him there.

Usnavi takes his phone and throws it out of reach.

"Follow me!" Pippa says, once they’re out of the room. "The elevator will take too long! We'll take the stairs." 

She quickly takes off her high-heeled shoes and opens the door to the stairwell. 

"Ruben's on Level 5. It's our most secure level. There are dangerous criminals up there, though. If he cuts the power, they're free too." 

She looks at Alexander as they start up the stairs. 

"I'm not an agent," she confesses. She searches his eyes and folds her lips in briefly before looking down. "I'm a doctor. A therapist." She starts to cry again and says, "Lawless… Lawless said if I didn’t work for him, I’d end up in a cell with the others. I… I can feel what others feel.” She looks up at Alex, searching for absolution. “I don't agree with the process.”

“It’s okay, you’re helping now. We’ll sort it.”

"Ma'am," Lee tells her, licking his lips nervously. "Tell us all about it after we get a good distance away, yeah?" 

She nods and they start up the stairs. It takes a little while, but once they're on the fifth level, she enters a code and says, "Dr. Marcado's in here."

When they get to Ruben's door, Pippa touches Alexander's arm. 

"You need to be the one to go in. You'll be the one to stay safe." She gives him a small hug. "Thank you. For doing this, I mean." 

Lee looks at the door and asks, "So what's in there? A monster?" 

\----

Ruben is sitting at the little desk writing a letter to his mother, which he knows will never reach her, when he hears the familiar sound of the keypad unlocking and the door opening. It's Alexander. He's not with Dr. Lawless. 

"Hello." His brows furrow slightly, waiting for an explanation.

"Hey, Dr. Marcado, do you remember me, from the other day? Alexander?"

"Yes," he says, standing up. "Can I help you?"

Ruben walks to the edge of the yellow line and stops. "Where's Lawless?"

"Lawless is… indisposed at the moment. Um, you know how you really want to talk to your family? Well, I think you should be able to do that and I'm going to help you make contact. But I need you to help me, well, us actually. There's a man here that's kind of like you and he needs your help. Now." 

"My help?" Ruben shakes his head. "I don't-don't understand."

Alexander says, ""We need someone who can get us through the electric locks and help us stop them. They're using electroshock therapy on him and it's hurting him. Right now. Can you try?" 

"I'm not supposed to take these off," Ruben says, holding up his wrists. "I could hurt, possibly kill, everyone here." 

"I don't think you will. I think you are more in control than they've given you credit for. Regardless if it all goes to hell in a hand basket, I'll tell them it was my fault.”

Ruben crosses the yellow line and hesitantly takes hold of one of the bands. He looks at the door. "I don't think Lawless would like for me to do that."

“You have to try. Please," Alexander says, sounding desperate. 

"I can't," Ruben says. "I'm sorry, Mr. Saenz. I can't risk hurting people."

\---

Outside, Usnavi touches Lee's arm. "Lyra's awake," he says softly. "She doesn't know where she is."

Lee looks thoughtful and distressed at this. Another minute or two goes by. 

"She's not hurt," Usnavi adds. "She's lost."

"There they are!"

Usnavi, Pippa, and Lee turn to see three guards-weapons out, running towards them.

"Get down! The guards order. "Now!"

"Use the gun!" Usnavi says, unsure of what to do at this point.

Lee stumbles and sinks to his knees.

"Mr. Scoresby?" Pippa kneels down. 

"It's Hester." Usnavi says, eyes on the guard. "She's too far away from him."

Pippa puts her hands up and orders for Usnavi to do the same.

Suddenly, a thump thump THUMP THUMP sound and a furry little blur passes between one of the guard's legs. Hester touches her nose to Lee's chin. 

"Take these two back to their quarters,” on of the guards says. “I'll handle Dr. Sain." 

A loud clap of thunder startles them all. It's so loud that it feels like it's inside. The lights begin to flicker. 

"Ruben?" Pippa asks, brows furrowing. 

"It's not Ruben," Usnavi says, looking confused as well.

"Yeah, I think Hester and I have had enough of this place, ain't that right, Hester," Lee says hoisting the hare up onto his shoulder as lightning shoots down the corridor towards the guards. 

The twin lightning strikes hit both the guard's weapons and the two shocked men scream as the weapons fly out of their hands, leaving their fingers red and raw. Hester nods to him from her perch. Then men sink to the ground, alive, but their hands are numb and deadened from the force of the lightning strike. 

Lee walks casually past them and turns to look back over his shoulder, "Y'all comin'? Let's go get this Alvie kid and get the hell outta Dodge." 

The entire company stands in utter shock for a moment, staring open mouthed at the aeronaut. 

Alex is the first to recover.

"Ruben, I think that man might be able to help you more than these people have. Would you like to come with us? I'm not going to force you. Lord knows you've had enough forced on you in the last year. It's your choice, but Alvie does need your help. However, you can choose not to give it. But time is short, and you must decide now. Either way, I'm leaving this door unlocked for you."

Ruben's eyes widen. He's terrified. That much is evident. "What i-if I h-hurt someone?"

"We'll keep an eye on you. We'll help. I don't think you will though. I think the fact that you are terrified of doing that is going to be enough to keep you from seriously injuring anyone while you learn how to use your powers."

"We need to go. Things are nearing a breaking point for Alvie. He's not going to be conscious much longer. He's at his limit. We need to go now!" Usnavi says urgently. 

"Come on," Pippa shouts and runs to get in front of Lee since she's the one who knows the way. 

Alexander looks at Ruben. "Decision time. What's it going to be?"

Ruben swallows and then takes off both cuffs. He slips them into the pockets of his pants though. "Just in case." 

Alexander nods, "Just in case. Come on." 

\---

Pippa throws herself into running down the stairs, with Lee, Usnavi, Alexander and Ruben behind her. As they all take off together, another two guards appear in their path with Lawless. One of them blindly starts firing against Lawless' orders. Alexander grunts and falls as a bullet strikes him in the back.

Pippa screams, covering her mouth. 

"Keep going. I'll be fine! Go help Alvie,” Alex yells. 

"Go!" Lee yells, firing back. The guards and Lawless retreat into another room.

Lee stays with Alexander who makes a terrible choking sound. He watches with slight horror as Alexander coughs up a bloody bullet. He examines it in his hand and then stands up, tossing it. 

"Let's go," he says. 

"What are you?" Lee asks. 

"You seriously wanna have this conversation now?" Alex yells as they can hear the footsteps of the guards once again gaining on them. 

"Right, we'll talk later." 

By the time they catch up to the others, Pippa is throwing open the door to the treatment floor. They all job down the corridor to a room with a metal door and another set of electronic locks on it. Sain enters the code and they all tumble into the room. 

There are two attendants in the room with Alvie, who is sitting up on the bed, probes still on his head. He looks completely out of it. Lee points the gun at them. The attendants raise their hands in surrender. 

"This him?" Lee asks. 

"That's him," Alexander says as Pippa rushes to check on him. "Ruben, you're a doctor. See what you can do." 

"I'm not that kind of doctor," Ruben says hanging back. He approaches Alvie anyway, who looks completely out of it. He eyes the attendants warily and then turns his focus back to Alvie. "Hi," Ruben says softly. "Can you hear me?"

Alvie turns his head to the side, eyes still closed and throws up. Ruben notes the IV in his arm and removes it.

"He's overdosing," Ruben tells the others. 

"It's not our fault," one of the attendants says. "It's Lawless' order."

"What do we do?" Lee asks Alexander.

Ruben begins removing the probes from his head, one at a time. To Alexander he says, "I don't know how we're going to get him out of here. There's no way he can walk." 

Alvie opens his eyes weakly and they meet Ruben’s. “I-It’s you.” Alvie says weakly, reaching up to touch Ruben’s cheek. “Sparks on your hands.” And then his eyes slip closed again.

"Someone's going to have to carry him," Alexander says.

Lee moves to do just that, he helps Alvie to stand and says, "C'mon, Kiddo." 

"Where're we goin'?" Lee asks Alexander. 

"We can take the secret emergency exit," Pippa replies. "I have the code."

She looks at Alexander. "I'll help you to it and then go and turn myself in. They'll be distracted with me. Get out of here." 

"Will they hurt you?" Usnavi asks her. 

Pippa shakes her head.

To Alexander, Usnavi says telepathically, _she's lying. They'll probably kill her._

"Hold on," Usnavi says, and goes to Alvie. He touches the sides of his head. 

"Alvie can do it," he tells them. "Alvie? Can you hear me?" 

"Mm... don't feel good... mm... I'm tired," Alvie slurs, leaning on Lee's shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Pippa asks. "What can he do?"

"Tell us how we get out of here," Usnavi says quietly, this time deliberately touching Alvie's temples. "I know," he tells Alvie. "I don't want to do this to you. I promise. Last time, Alvie." 

Alvie wretches again, but it's dry heaving now as nothing is left in his system and Usnavi says, "He's trying." 

Usnavi closes his eyes. "We don't get out," he says, opening them.

At that moment, the door opens and several guards with heavy duty rifles come in. At least a dozen.

Lawless stands in front of them. "Let's talk, Alexander," he says.

Alexander motions for Lee to drop the gun he's taken into view. 

"Talk less," Alexander mutters. "Smile more. Isn't that your motto?" 

Lawless cocks his head. 

To Be Continued...


	6. They Emerge With a Compromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that all the players are no the board, Alexander and Lawless come to an agreement about how to move forward as a team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers, this is Break_So_Beautifully. Thank you so much for your warm welcome to this story. It's been so fun delving into Kikabennet's wonderful world. I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for reading. :-)

"I have to admit, Alexander,” Lawless says as his men disarm Lee and cuff them all. The attendants have put Alvie back on the bed. “When I brought you in to lead the team, this is not what I was expecting."

"I told you, my team, my rules, my way. You agreed to that. And then you stonewalled me for the last three days. All the while you're doing this," he motions to the room at large and the technical machinery, "to Alvie. What were you trying to do, wring every last bit of information from him before you let me have him? This isn't right. You're killing him. This isn't for his best or anyone else's."

"And I told you, your feelings wouldn't change our processes."

"Your processes are wrong. Look at Alvie. He barely even knows his own name right now. Usnavi is in a room full of people and he's functioning. Ruben is surrounded by people and no one's hurt."

"No one's hurt! I have two guards down there with electrical burns who can't feel their hands."

"It's not my feelings," Alexander growls, slamming his cuffed fists onto a table. "That wasn't Ruben."

"What do you mean it wasn't Ruben?" Lawless inquires. 

Alexander glances around the room. “Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private?”

“Take them back to their rooms.”

“No. Ruben and Dr. Sain need to stay with Alvie. He can’t be left alone right now and I don’t trust your people.” Alexander glares at the attendants who stand next to Alvie. 

“Okay, they can stay here.” Lawless motions to two of the other guards. Please return Mr. De la Vega and Mr. Scoresby to their rooms.”

Alexander looks around at his defeated team. “It’s going to be okay, gentlemen. We’ll get this sorted.” He looks at Dr. Sain and then at Ruben. “Take care of him, make sure he’s okay. I’ll see you all in a little while. Trust me.” Lawless has Ruben and Pippa uncuffed so they can help with Alvie. 

“After you.” Alex motions with his cuffed fists before following Lawless back to the now familiar conference room. 

Lawless closes the door behind him. “Now, if you will please enlighten me as to how my two guards with electrical burns are not in their condition thanks to Dr. Marcado?”

"Ruben hadn't taken the bands off yet," Alexander says. "I don't know what it was, but it wasn't him. Maybe Usnavi or..." he frowns thoughtfully. "The painting..." he murmurs. "The storm." His brows furrow. "It's Scoresby." He no longer feels angry. "Alvie said the storm was the gate. What if Lee's ability is to..." He shakes his head. No matter what he speculates, Lawless doesn't need to know. "I want them out of here," he tells him. "And take it from any note in history, I don't back down. I will go down and take this whole establishment with me."

Alexander stares Lawless down. He’s not going to be the one to lose this. And he wasn’t. Lawless broke the stare and looked at the floor. 

"I don't want them isolated anymore. They're not a threat. Especially if you want me to make them a team. I know it might take awhile for you to find somewhere for us, but starting tonight I want them at least paired up in rooms. Or maybe even three in a room. I mean it, Lawless. You will not do this to them any more. And you're done hurting Alvie. You can get what you need from his regular dreams. Or if he consents to the sleep study drugs. But absolutely no more EST, on any of them. Usnavi included.”

"Can I tell you a story?" Lawless asks, standing up and pushing in his chair.

"I suppose. But I don't like having my time wasted and you've done a lot of that lately. So, maybe don't drag it out."

"During the Revolution," Lawless says. "Something else was happening. Something well covered up and buried." He says, "There wasn't just a war between England and the colonies. There was a war between people with abilities working for good and people with abilities who were using said abilities for evil. Washington himself voted on being in total control of individuals with abilities. Always having eyes on them."

"Eyes on doesn't mean locked away though. It can't."

"It means whatever is necessary," Lawless says.

"But this isn't necessary!”Alex shouts. “You've not even given them a chance. You've just locked them away."

"For you that meant being under Washington's watch.” Lawless continues calmly. “It meant introducing you to Eliza. It meant turning prying eyes away from your ability to not die with that ridiculous affair." He says, "Rochambeau arranged your marriage, your life. You didn't know but that doesn't mean you were any more free than Ruben or Alvie."

"Even if that were true for my life, which it may have been, what you've done here is wrong. You locked them away based on what they could do, not what they've done. I'm not naive enough to believe that bad people don’t exist. I can even believe that bad people with powers exist. But that’s not them. You treating these men like lab rats and criminals is only making it worse. Hell, you almost killed Alvie tonight. You're exploiting them. That makes you the bad guy."

"What purpose do they serve otherwise?" Lawless asks. "Alvie' s homeless most of the time. Ruben, as far as the rest of the world concerned, is dead."

"Ruben isn't dead and he doesn't want to be dead. He doesn't need to be dead. He wants to see his family and it serves no justifiable purpose to keep him from them. He needs them. They don't have to know what's happened to him other than that he was traumatized and he's different now. He can tell them that he's getting treatment for all the trauma he's undergone. That he needs to go away for a while to heal. But let him have that contact. And for God sakes let Usnavi call home. They already know what his issues are.” 

Alex takes a deep breath to get his bearings and bring the argument home. “Look, you've read me in. Let me do what you brought me here to do. Let me have them. I'll take the consequences if anything goes wrong. We'll all share responsibility for Alvie. Give me Dr. Sain as part of my team if you're that worried. Even Usnavi suggested keeping a monitor on Alvie. I'm not opposed to security precautions if they make sense.”

Lawless chuckles flatly. "You get six weeks," he finally says. "Alvie is still required to provide visions."

"I need at least a quarter. Give me three months. Minimum.”

"You drive a hard bargain." Lawless moves to unshackle Alexander.

"And the three months doesn't start until we're away from here." Alex presses. 

"Fine. And just to put all the cards on the table, we have the girl," he says. "Lyra. She's safe. We rescued her from someone who wanted her. Scoresby doesn't get her yet. It's for her safety and his. He may see her, but that's up to you if you want to tell him."

Lawless looks away from Alex, a far away look in his eyes. When he looks back, his expression is harder. Forced. 

"They killed my daughter, Alexander. People like Ruben and Alvie and Usnavi. I don't hold it against them personally, but I know what people like them can do if not contained. If you tell Scoresby about the girl, you must stress that she stays here. I think it's best he doesn't know."

"You told me, when you brought me here that you were trying to help these people. If you blame all of the people with abilities for the death of your daughter, then you will never help them. Look at what you did to Ruben. He's been traumatized beyond belief and the first thing you did is make him even more afraid of his own shadow. You've done nothing to help him. The supresor cuffs are for your benefit, not his. He may need them, but you never even gave him a chance. What would you do if it were your daughter? If she had lived and had powers. Would you want her here, like this? 

He let’s the question sit in the air before he continues, quieter this time. 

“I don't know what Scoresby and the girl are, but I know that I have a member of my team that could figure that out. Let Usnavi talk to the girl. He's already talked to Scoresby. But the last thing you need to do is delude yourself into thinking that what you have done is protect any of these people."

Lawless huffs out a puff of air. "How do you want the rooms arranged?" he says while he drums his fingers on the table. 

“Hmmm… Let me ask you one thing first. When Alvie said that he saw the man with the lightning in his hands, that's Ruben isn't it?"

\---

Alexander stands in front of his team. They've all been escorted to the conference room and then their guards have been asked to leave. Lawless stands slightly behind him. He insisted that he be present when the new normal was explained to them

"Gentlemen, I have some good news that I think you can all live with. Mr. Lawless has agreed to help us find somewhere where we can go and learn to work together. I believe that, like me, you all agreed to help him when he brought you here. And since you haven't all got the help you need, we're going to do some things differently going forward. He's going to find some property outside of the city and away from any populated places.

“It may take him a little while to find a place like that though, so to foster a sense of cooperation, he's agreed to not keep you locked up and isolated. You'll be pairing up. Usnavi, I'd like you and Lee to bunk together. Ruben, I'd like you to bunk in with Alvie. I know he's still recovering, but I think you'll be good for each other."

Usnavi smirks slightly at this comment and Alexander wonders what he knows. He's not going to ask in front of Lawless. Usnavi looks up at him and obviously schools his expression, sitting up straighter and straightening his shoulders.

"Any questions?" Alex asks.

"I don't agree to any of this," Lee says. "I'm not even sure where I am or how I got here," he scoffs. "And I don't intend to stay here."

Lawless gives Alexander a 'told you so' look.

"I was gonna chat with you privately, Lee. I think you'll agree to stay after you've heard what I have to say?"

Alvie who, now conscious and extremely exhausted looking while nursing a bottle of water, asks, "We're leaving the institution? We've been discharged?"

"No exactly, Alvie. But we'll be leaving here. It'll be a more quiet place. Not in the city. And you'll still be monitored for your own safety. Okay?"

Alvie nods. Ruben leans over and whispers to Alvie to keep drinking water. Alvie nods again and does just that.

"Mr. Lawless has also agreed that he will not be using any EST type therapies on anyone. Alvie, they're still going to monitor your visions, but you can consent to the drugs. They're not going to force you. However, for your own safety, you will have to take the meds for your bi-polar condition."

"Visions?" Alvie asks, brows furrowing. "You mean the hallucinations."

"Yes, the things you see when you dream. He still wants to know what you see. He thinks they're... interesting. Can you do that, Alvie? Maybe, Ruben can help you. He keeps a journal. Maybe he can help you learn to write them down and remember the details."

Ruben replies, "During my residency I did sleep studies." He looks at Alvie. "You wouldn't need drugs or induced sleep. We could do it naturally."

"The natural dreams take time," Lawless argues.

"But they're safer. And I don't want my team hurt anymore," Alexander argues back.

"Are you the son of a witch?" Lee asks Alvie.

"Huh?" Alvie blinks.

"You dream about the future," Lee says simply. "You have witch blood, right?"

"My mom worked at the K-Mart," Alvie replies.

"We can contact our families?" Usnavi asks Alexander, changing the subject.

"Yes. You can.” He directs his attention to Ruben. “Ruben, I'll help you work that out, okay? We have to put some guidelines in place for your family’s sake, but yes. You will all be allowed to contact your families,” Alexander states, giving Lawless a warning look. This was part of the deal.

Lawless states, "This is also a trial period."

"But the trial doesn't start until we get to the new location." Alex almost growls. “But he is right, it will be a trial. We'll have three months to see if this works. So I'm gonna need all of you to work together. To trust each other."

"Dr. Sain will continue reporting to me," Lawless adds.

"However, she's still assigned to our team. Alvie, she'll be helping Dr. Marcado manage your meds and therapies."

"I'm trusting you, Alexander. I'll show you to your new rooms. Mr. Scoresby-" Lawless gestures for him to stay before leaving with Usnavi, Ruben and Alvie. 

Lee looks at Alexander. “So, why am I here? What do you have to say that’s going to change my mind about all of this nonsense. I got a little girl I gotta go find. Neither you, nor any of these Rocham-whatevers are going to be able to stop me from getting to her.”

"They have Lyra.” Alex decides it’s best to rip off the bandage quickly. Lee’s head snaps toward him at those words. “She's safe. They're protecting her. I don't exactly know all the details, but after you came through the rift, portal, whatever it was and you got separated. Someone or a group of someones managed to get their hands on her. Rochambeau was able to rescue her. Lawless says you can see her, but you can't have her with you. And she stays here when we go to the new location. He's protecting her. He says people with abilities killed his daughter and he doesn't want anything to happen to her. I think with some time and building up of some trust, you can get her back. And if not, we'll help you. Is she your daughter? Are you two family?"

"I ain't stayin' here," Lee says quietly, his eyes glossy. "Where is she?"

"She's here. That's all I know. Please, consider staying. The way you threw that lightning, Ruben could really use your help. He wasn't born with powers, he sort of stumbled into them accidentally and he's lost."

"I ain't agreeing to anything until I see her.”

"I didn't think you would."

He finally sighs and says, "I planned on takin' her back to Texas with me, when everything was over."

"I don't expect you to take my word for it. But I swear I'll help you get her back."

"You have children, Saenz?" Lee asks, wiping at his eyes.

"I did, a long time ago. And I know that there is nothing better than being a father. I've watched over my family for centuries now, but only from a distance. It's not ideal, to say the least."

"Then you can tell me," Lee says. "Am I crazy for wanting to set this place ablaze just to get her back?"

"No. Not at all. It's what fathers do to protect their own. I'd do the same. My oldest died at nineteen. I would have burned the world to ash if it would have brought him back."

"I'm not her father," Lee admits flatly.

"Could have fooled me, from the way you talk about her. I've been around for a long time. Family doesn't always mean blood."

Lee nods, defeated. He lets out a long, shuddering sigh. "I can see her? At least?"

"Yes. Lawless is bringing her to you when he comes back. Shouldn't be too much longer now."

Lee nods again. He sits down at the table and massages his tired eyes with his finger tips. Hester jumps into his lap.

"So, what did Usnavi mean when he said you two are connected?"

"Hester? She's me. I'm her. She's what's called a daemon where I come from. In my world, she's my soul. She just lives outside of my body. We're one and the same. It's why we can't be apart."

“Huh, does she like for people to pet her?” Alex reaches towards the hare. 

Lee pulls Hester closer to him and away from Alex. “Uh, no. No one is supposed to touch another person’s daemon.”

Alex pulls his hand back. “Noted. Thanks for the warning. Wouldn’t want to offend you.”

“No offense. You don't have them here. How would you know?”

"To think I've been alive for over 200 years," Alexander says, sitting across from him. "And I never would have guessed there are other worlds."

"Yeah, it's pretty mind bending, that's fer sure," Lee says as he strokes Hester's head. "200 years, huh? That's a mighty long time. What do you do with yourself?"

Alexander scoffs softly. "I eat, I sleep, I work. I travel. Sometimes I fight. I've only _lived_ one life. The rest is just...time wasted."

"Perhaps you should get back to livin' again." Lee pauses, thoughtful. “Seems to me, time wasted is your choice."

"I haven't had reason to until now," Alexander says with a shrug.

"So, what's changed?"

"Having a purpose," He replies. "Not letting these assholes dictate the lives of people they feel it's their right to control just because they have something they want." He doesn't mention Eliza. _Pippa_ , he corrects himself mentally. 

"And where does Dr. Sain come into this new picture? I saw the way to look at her. The way you calmed her down when I took Lawless' gun. You're not the only one who notices things, you know. And you have to know that De la Vega kid knows."

Alexander smiles a little, trying to cover it by scrubbing a hand over his mouth. "She looks like her," he says. "My Eliza." _She is her_ , he thinks. "I wasn't always the best husband," he says. "But she was the best wife. Best mother. My best friend." He dips into those blurry memories. "She had a way of bullying me into behaving myself. Didn't let me get away with my gifted and talented bullshit. She was sweet and kind and lived in this mean world and never let any of that meanness get to her."

He looks at Lee.

"Lawless said our getting together wasn't a coincidence. It was planned, but maybe he's wrong. Maybe he thinks Rochambeau put us together, but I don't think so. I think we would have found each other no matter what...because I needed her."

"I think Lyra is that for me. Well, not as a spouse, but as the family that I needed. Me and Hester have been on our own for a long time. Being an aeronaut can be mighty lonely. But we get along. And then Lyra came along and... turned everything upside down. She blindsided me. And now I don't know how to live without her. She's my world. I love that little girl and I'll do anything to protect her. To keep her safe. I don't know how we found each other. But I'm ever so grateful we did."

The door opens and Lawless steps aside. 

"Lee?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the update. We hope you enjoyed it. Please let us know what you thought in the comments. <3


	7. If You See My Family Bring Them Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the comments, ideas, questions! Be sure to reach out to us on tumblr as well!

**Chapter 7: If you see my family**   
**Bring them home**

“Lee!" The little girl hurls herself at Lee, barreling into his middle and wrapping her arms around his waist.

Lee wraps her in a tight, one armed hug, careful of the cast on his right arm but still managing to pull her as close to him as he could. In the corner behind Lee, Pan, in red panda form, and Hester nosed at each other and rubbed their sides together in greeting.

"I thought I'd lost you," Lee says into her hair, almost sobbing. 

"Me too," she breathes against his chest, tears on her cheeks. 

Lyra doesn't let him go but turns her head warily toward Lawless. She glares at him.

When she finally pulls back a little to look at Lee, her brow furrows slightly. "Where are your clothes? And what happened to your arm?"

"I’ll give you a few minutes," Lawless says. He gives Alexander a meaningful look and then leaves the room. 

Lee pulls back enough to look at Lyra. "That's a mighty fine question. I think I broke my arm in the crash coming through the rift, but that’s all a bit of a blur. I don't know where my clothes are. I woke up in these clothes. Are you okay? My new friend Alexander tells me that you got yourself into some trouble and had to be rescued. Are they treating you and Pan okay?"

"I'm not allowed to talk about it," she mumbles, eyeing Alexander apprehensively.

"Have they hurt you? Did they threaten you?" Lee looks her over for any sign of injury. 

"He's a doctor," she says quietly.

"Who's a doctor?" Lee asks.

She stares at Alexander again.

"I'm on your side," Alexander tells her. He looks at Lee. "Should I go?"

"He's trying to help,” Lee tells her. “He's a good guy. You can trust him. He's done nothing but good by me since I got here. And he's got good people working with him that will help us. But it might take a bit. You'll have to be brave for a little while longer, Lyra. Can you do that for me?"

"Why can't I stay with you?" She asks, brow furrowing again. Lee goes down on one knee to speak to her at eye level.

"They're trying to keep you safe. They need my help for a little while. But I promise that I'm not leaving you behind willingly and that I will be back for you. I'll check in with you as often as I can. You'll be safe here. I promise. You know I'd kill every single person that got in my way of getting to you if I thought I could keep you any safer."

"You're leaving?" Her eyebrows shoot up to match the increased octave of her voice. She pulls her hands out of his.

"Not as yet. But I'm going to have to. I don't want to, but if I want a shot of the two of us being together and getting back to Texas, then I have to. I don't exactly have a choice." 

Now it's Lee's turn to give Alexander a meaningful look. He pulls Lyra back into another tight hug. "You know I never would let you be away from me if I had a say in things. And there ain't a force on this earth that could keep me from you if I thought you were in danger. Or any earth for that matter.”

Lyra pulls away from him, scowling. "You're leaving me," she says. "You're just like _them_." She goes to the door and bangs on it. Pan skitters off to climb onto her shoulder.

"Lyra, sweetheart, please don’t be like that. You know I'm not. _Please._ Don't leave like this! I don't know when they'll let me see you again."

She bangs harder on the door. Alexander wants to intervene, but he's been through this a million times. He's not sure how to tell Lee children don't really understand having to be away. It was easier for him. He had Eliza to catch them in her arms after he left.

Lawless comes into the room and Lyra runs out. He looks at the two men.

"You're a father," Alexander shrugs one shoulder. "You should know how well that went down."

"She can't get very far," Lawless says, nodding. He looks at Lee. "Am I good to take her back to her quarters?"

"Yes, but. Please tell her that I'm sorry. And that I love her. That I... Well, just tell her that for me. And don't even think of not doing it. I'll know if you don't tell her."

"How would you know-" Lawless starts to ask. "Oh, Mr. De la Vega. Of course. You have my word that I'll deliver your message."

"Do I have your word that I can see her at least once more before we leave for the new location?"

Lawless nods. "Yes. You may see her again."

When he leaves, Alexander lets out a soft chuckle. "You're lucky that's all you got. When I left my little Ellie for the first time, she punched me in the stomach. She hit harder than any of her brothers." The joke doesn't seem to make Lee feel better. Alexander says, "She just doesn't understand yet."

"She shouldn't have to. That little girl has been abandoned by both her natural parents. She understands that when an adult leaves, bad things happen. She actually had to run away from her mother and her father... Her father murdered her best friend in front of her. She said I was like them..." Lee's expression shifts to that of a lost man. He almost looks like Ruben.

"Shit," Alexander says. He sighs and asks, "Who was she talking about, do you think? 'He's a doctor'?"

"I don't know... And it bothers me that she wouldn't tell me. She's never kept anything from me. What have they threatened her with that she felt she couldn't talk to me?"

\---

Lee follows his escort down the corridor to the new room he’d be sharing with Mr. De la Vega, Lyra’s last words still echoing in his head. 

He looks up as the escort waves him into the room. Right, no locks. But they still weren’t free to go. And he wasn’t going anywhere without Lyra. 

Usnavi De la Vega, sits on his bed, cross legged, his eyes closed. 

"You saw her?" Usnavi asks, opening his eyes. He half-heartedly tosses a journal onto the floor. "I have to read this research about telepathy. I suck at reading. Dropped out of school senior year."

He watches Lee sit on the opposite bed. Lee doesn’t respond to anything Usnavi is saying and he can’t help but pick up on Lee’s deep sense of disappointment. 

"We should be getting our stuff back soon," he informs him. Usnavi knows it’s not enough. But he’s powerless to get him what he needs. At least for now. 

Lee doesn’t feel like getting his clothes back will erase everything that feels wrong with this situation. But, it will be nice to have something that feels normal against his skin. 

Usnavi cocks his head to the side and listens. “She’s not actually mad at you. She’s hurt and angry. But she’s not angry at you. She’s… frustrated and sad. She knows she can’t be with you and she’s… she feels betrayed. But not by you. Betrayed by… fate?

“Yeah. Fate’s been a real bitch to both of us. And none of it feels fair.” 

Hester hops up on the bed next to him and nuzzles against him. She’s been quiet, too quiet, since they got here. She’s normally like him, chatty. 

He pets her absentmindedly. “You’re awfully quiet, Hester. You doing okay?”

She looks at him but doesn’t say anything. She just leans into his touch. 

"She's nervous about talkin'," Usnavi says. "She knows rabbits don't talk here."

He smiles, a little sadly. "And I can hear her just as clearly as I hear you. I don’t usually get that from animals in my world. I can sense that she feels what you feel. Your thoughts are similar but your feelings are identical. It’s fascinating."

He lays down on his side.

"I have a little cousin, but he doesn't feel like a cousin. Sometimes I feel like his big brother. Sometimes I feel like his father, so I sort of understand what you’re going through. I miss him the most of all. Him and my girl, Vanessa."

Lee nods and looks down at Hester, “Don’t tell me this world makes you shy, Hester. You can talk. He already knows what you're thinking. That essentially means that you’re talking to him and not me. Now I feel jealous. Is that what you’re trying to do? Make me jealous?”

Hester lays her head on Lee’s thigh. “I’m not trying to make you jealous, Lee. We just don’t know who to trust and there’s no daemons in this world. It’s… unnatural.” Hester replies quietly. More quietly than Lee’s ever heard her be. 

“Holy-” Usnavi jumps back up. “She actually talks! Like, I knew she could, but… damn! That’s…” Usnavi glances nervously over to Lee with a sheepish grin on his face. “That’s somethin’. Sorry. Didn’t mean to freak out on you.”

“I think you can trust this one.” Lee whispers to Hester. “The only one I’d be quiet around, if you’re so inclined, would be that Lawless guy. Him I’m not sure about.”

\---

Alexander is writing notes in a journal, files on each of his team members spread out around him, when there's a soft knock at the door. He goes to open it and is pleasantly surprised to see Pippa. She hands him a stack of towels.

"For your bathroom," she explains quickly. 

"Is that your punishment?" He teases, going to put them away. "For trying to help us escape?"

Pippa comes into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Maybe I just needed an excuse to come and talk to you," she replies with a small sigh. 

Alexander sits at the desk and gestures for her to take the nearby armchair. She sits. 

"Why did you trust me?" She asks.

"It was a spur of the moment decision," he replies, facing her, toying with his pen. 

"I don't believe you," she says, trying to hide a smile.

Alexander smiles too.

"Look it up," he says. "I've always been impulsive."

"You saved Alvie's life," Pippa points out. 

"How is he?" Alexander asks. He's pretty sure Pippa is making her rounds to check on them.

"Driving Dr. Mercado insane, I'm sure," she says, chuckling. "When I went to see them, he was freestyling."

Alexander chuckles too, shaking his head. 

"Are you married?" He asks suddenly. 

"Divorced," she says with a shrug. "If you can even call it that. It was a short marriage." 

Alexander nods, not realizing he's staring. It's like he's sitting with Eliza again. She even has the same airy floral scent. 

"I should probably go," she says, tucking hair behind her ear. She stands up.

"You're coming with us?" He asks, following her movements with his gaze. 

She nods. 

\---

Ruben is nervous when Alex leads him into a private room with a table, chairs and a phone. He hasn’t spoken to his family in a year. They think he’s dead. What is he going to say? Hey, Ma. Surprise, it’s me? He bites his lip as he sits down.

“Lawless insisted that someone be here with you. You know what we said. You can talk to them, but you can’t tell them where you are or where you’ve been. 

“Y-yeah, I-I kn-know. I g-got it.”

“Are you nervous?”

“D-do I s-sound n-nervous?”

“Just a little. Relax. It’s your family. They won’t judge you. They love you.” He hands Ruben the phone receiver. “You ready?”

“No.”

Alex sits up and fixes him with a steady gaze. “Ruben, you’re still you. You’ve been through a lot. Yes, and it’s changed you. But at your core, you’re still you. You are your mother’s son. You are your sisters’ older brother. None of that has changed.”

Rubben nods, his eyes filling with tears. “But, I can’t touch them. I don’t know if I’ll ever be safe enough to touch them.”

“That’s Lawless talking. You touched Alvie and he was fine.”

“Alvie needed my help. What if I can’t control this? God my life sucks.” He crosses his arms on the table and rests his head on them, hiding his face, blue sparks dancing along his arms. 

“Do you wanna try another time?”

“No. No, let’s do this. Maybe it’ll be different when I hear my mom’s voice and I won’t dread everything so much.”

“Okay. I’m dialing the number.” Alex dials and sits back to listen. He’s gone over this a dozen times with Ruben. They have a good cover story. The phone rings on the speaker setting. 

“Bueno, Estaphania speaking.”

Ruben presses the end call button before he says a word. Real tears slip down his cheeks this time. 

“I-I-I can’t. It’s too much. Let’s try another time. It was good enough just to hear her for that moment. Maybe… maybe I’ll be able to talk to her in a few days. Once I've gotten used to t-talking to p-people again. A-Alvie talks… a-a lot. M-Maybe that will help me.”

“It’s okay, Ruben. If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. We can try again another time. Whenever you’d like, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I think Alvie will be good for you. Don’t worry. You’re going to get your life back. I promise. It won’t always be like this.”

Ruben nods. “Thanks, Mr. Saenz.”

“Please, call me Alex or Alexander. I want to be your friend, Ruben. I know that with all you’ve been through, it may feel like the world is out to get you, but it’s not. You’ve had a run of bad relationships and crummy luck. But you’re alive and breathing. And things are bound to turn around. Hell, you have superpowers. That’s got to be one for the books.”

Ruben smirks a bit at this. “I do, don’t I.”

“Yep. And you will learn to control them. You’re probably the smartest man in this building. I believe in you. And I know Alvie believes in you.”

“He’s… different. But I like him. I don’t think he has a fake bone in his body. Like, I don’t think he could lie to save his life. It’s intense, but it’s also refreshing. I’ve spent the last year locked up with a manipulative psychopath. I like being around Alvie, even if he is a bit… verbose.

They both laugh at this. 

“I-I think I’d like to go back to my room now.”

“Okay. I’ll walk you back. I know Mr. De la Vega is dying to call home.”

To Be Continued...

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	8. We Act Strong But There's Gotta Be Something Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two for one deal! Two chapters in one day! Road trip time! We hope you're enjoying these loveable lads and their crazy superpowers!

**Chapter 8: We Act Strong, But There's Gotta Be Something Wrong**

Alexander walks Ruben back down the corridor to his room. They are all on the same floor now. The floor, for their safety Lawless said, remained locked, but their rooms are not. 

He says goodbye to Ruben, waves to Alvie and then goes over to Usnavi and Lee’s room. 

The two men are sitting across from each other talking quietly with Hester on Lee’s lap. Alexander shakes his head. Lee's connection with the rabbit is odd, but then, he is from a different world. 

“Evening, gentlemen. I didn’t mean to interrupt-”“It’s time? I get to make my phone call home. I can talk to Sonny? And Vanessa?”

“Woah, slow your roll there partner. The man hasn’t even finished saying hello,” Lee interjects. 

“Sorry, I’m ... I just miss their voices.”

“It’s okay, Usnavi. Come on, I know you’re anxious to talk to your family. Oh, Lee, this is for you. For when you miss her too much.” Alexander hands Lee a picture; it’s the picture of Lyra from his files. He doesn’t need it and he thinks Lee might.

Usnavi bounds off his bed. “Be back in a bit, Lee.”

Lee stares at the picture, not saying a word. He runs his fingers over the image as if he's actually her. 

“Thank you,” he chokes out just as Alex goes to close the door. 

“You are most welcome. I know what it’s like to miss family.” Alex nods toward him and then softly closes the door. 

Usnavi is almost bouncing off the walls as they make their way back to the room with the phone. 

“How are you doing up here in our new space?” Alexander inquires.

“Not too bad, It’s a bit louder up here, but I like having a window and being able to see out. It probably helps that we’re so high up. If I were on the ground floor it would probably be too loud. Like what happened on that last day that I was home.”

“Yeah, I read about that. Some girl got killed right outside your apartment?”

“Yeah,” Usnavi shudders. “The Heights ain’t normally like that, but it happens every now and then. It was just bad that it happened right then, while I was having that little crisis.”

“I’m glad you’re okay. You’ve been invaluable to me, ever since I got here. You know that right?”

“Like you said, it’s hard for me to misjudge someone’s character. Like, I don’t think Lawless is bad, he’s just not as helpful as I was hoping he would be. Still, the exercises and the stuff he’s had me reading has been really helpful. I don’t do so well reading, but I know I need to, so I’ve made myself focus. And I think they must be giving me some medication for that, because normally I can only sit and read for a few minutes at a time. Been like that since I was a kid. But I sat and straight read for three hours the other day.”

“If they are giving you meds for that, is that something you would want to continue? I’m determined that you all have a say, as much as possible, in what you're taking and that you know why you're taking it.”

Usnavi pauses his almost constant chatter, seriously the man could give Alvie a run for his money on how much he talks, to consider Alex’s question. 

“Yeah… yeah I think so. It seems to help quiet the voices too. Like when I was reading I didn’t really hear the guards patrolling the hallways like normal. It was nice.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to Lawless about what they have been giving you. Now, you ready?”

“Um… Yes! Shut up and make the call.”

Alex laughs, the man’s enthusiasm is contagious. “Sonny or Vanessa first?”

“Sonny. He’s just a kid, so let’s call him first. Vanessa will understand.”

Alex dials the number and the phone rings twice. “Bueno.”

“Sonny?”

“Navi? Where the hell have you been, we’ve been worried sick. No one at that number they gave us has returned our calls in over a week, man. What the hell? Are you okay?”

Usnavi is finally quiet. Overcome with emotion. 

“Usnavi?”

“I-I’m here. Y-yes. I’m okay. God I’ve missed you so much.” He sucks in a breath and it comes out as a sob.

“Navi? Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. It was just a hard week here. But I think things are looking better.”

“When are you coming home, Primo?”

“Not for a while still. How are you and the bodega managing? Oh, we’re fine. That Mr. Lawless dude kept his word and is helping out financially. The rent and stuff was all covered since the bodega’s been closed and there’s no cash coming in. I’m okay. I just miss you, man.”

“How’s Pete?”

“Pete… he’s… he’s good.”

“Sonny, I want you to know that I love you. No matter what, okay? You know what Mr. Lawless said, about how I can read minds?”

“Yes?" 

“I know you and Pete are together. It’s not a problem. You don’t gotta hide it. I love you. There’s nothing that will ever change that.”

Now it is Sonny’s turn to be quite on the other end. There is a sound like hiccupping and a sob similar to the sound Usnavi made at the start of the call. “I love you too. Thanks, Usnavi.” 

He laughs. “I should have known you already knew. I never could hide anything from you.”

“”Exactly. It was silly of you to try. I miss you, buddy. I know it sucks that I can’t be there. I promise I’ll be home as soon as I can. And I hope that going forward I’ll be able to call more often.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that. Say, you talk to Vanessa?”

“No, I’m calling her next.”

“What the hell are you doing on the phone with me then? Man, you know you don’t keep a lady waiting!”

“Ha! You're right. Alright, man. I’ll talk to you soon. I promise. I love you. And tell Pete I love him too. And you both better stay outta trouble.”

“We will. Promise. Talk to you later.”

Usnavi hangs up with Sonny and gives a deep sigh of relief. 

Alexander raises an eyebrow at him. “Better?”

“Loads! Okay, dial Vanessa.” Alexander smiles as he dials the number. Young love. Usnavi is practically vibrating with it. 

“Navi?” She picks up on the first ring. “Oh my God. I was about to drop-kick Sonny when I heard him talking to you. _Where_ are you?”

“I can’t say,” Usnavi says, and then he realizes, he really can’t say. He honestly has no clue where they’re all being held. 

“Everyone’s been worried sick about you. Benny is ready to go to war. Sonny has been moping around the apartment. Everyone’s cranky because we have that instant shit coffee.”

“I told you I know how to make it!” He can hear Sonny yell in the background.

“Will you go? BYE,” Vanessa shoots back. She sighs. “Don’t make me say it.”

Vanessa has a hard time saying the three words that took Usnavi no time to say. 

“Just say it and pretend I did too,” she says. Usnavi can practically hear her blushing.

“I love you,” Usanvi says, wishing he was all alone. “And yeah, thanks for telling me back.”

“Ya'll are fake,” he hears Sonny say.

“I swear when you come home he’ll be in an orphanage,” Vanessa sighs. She then guesses, “You aren’t alone, are you?”

“No. But it’s okay. I trust the person that’s here. But, yeah. I’m… I’m not alone. God I miss you. I miss being with you. I promise, just like I told Sonny, I’m gonna come home as soon as I can. I had a hard week here, but things are getting better. But, I don’t know how long it’s gonna be.” Usnavi pauses and makes eye contact with Alex as he talks to Vanessa, “I hate this. Like, I know it’s cool what I can do, but it nearly killed me. And it’s keeping me from you. I just thought having a superpower would be way more cool.”

“Usnavi, you’re such a dork. I’m glad that’s not changed.” Her voice softens, “But yeah, it sucks on this end too. I miss you.” 

“When this is all done. I’m taking you and Sonny somewhere. Anywhere. Not just in New York. Anywhere you guys wanna go, we'll go there. Just us.”

“That sounds perfect. Does Sonny have to come?”

“Hey!” he hears Sonny yell in the background. “He was my family first!”

“Alright… you can come,” Vanessa replies sarcastically. 

“Seriously, though, Usnavi, we were really worried about you. You can’t do this to us again. We need to hear from you. You were in so much pain when you left, we all… we all feared the worst. It’s so good to hear your voice and know that things are getting better.”

“Yeah, well…”

Alexander gives him a warning look. He can’t tell her that he hadn’t been allowed to call. Alex was trying to make things better, but Lawless had them on a short leash. 

“I wasn’t in any shape for talking these last few days. I’m hoping we’re passed the hard part and I’ll be able to call more regularly.”

“You’d better, Usnavi De la Vega.”

“Noted, Vanessa Garcia.”

After he hangs up, Alexander says with a sly grin, “She sounds smitten.”

Usnavi starts to say something else, but there’s a quick knock at the door and Pippa pokes her head in. 

“Alexander?” She says and then smiles apologetically at Usnavi. “Lawless would like to speak with you.”

“Of course he would,” Usnavi scoffs, scooting his chair back to stand up. 

“I can take him back to his room.” Pippa offers. “Lawless will meet you in the conference room at the end of the hall.”

Usnavi rolled his eyes. “I can walk a few doors down the hallway on my own.” 

“Lawless’ orders,” Alex replies. “And if we want this to work, we need to all mind our Ps and Qs until we're at the new facility and he’s out of our hair.”

“Fine,” Usnavi huffs out and follows Pippa down the hall. Alexander heads in the opposite direction for the conference room. 

\-----

Lawless is getting off the phone when Alexander makes his way in. 

“I’ve secured you a safe place,” he says. “I had to pull a lot of strings. You need to keep your boys on a short leash or the whole thing is over. Got it?”

“Yes. Of course. I’m just ready to get them out of here. Help them start to really be able to function. I think you’re going to be happy with what you see.”

Lawless looks like he really wants to say something. He licks his lips and asks, “How many wars have you fought in, Alexander? Three? Maybe?”

“Five, if you count Korea. Why do you ask?”

“Did you ever meet a single man who _wanted_ to go to war?” Lawless asks. He slides over a file folder, looking away.

Inside are texts and pictures involving mysterious explosions, kidnappings of important people, entire communities burned to the ground. It goes on and on.

“There’s a war coming,” Lawless tells him with a deep sigh. “We’re not a charity. I didn’t decide to go and pick up De la Vega on a whim, or keep Alvie, or Dr. Marcado.” He fixes his eyes on Alexander. “Or you. It was timed very carefully. We think Jason Cole is alive and we think he’s made friends with some bad people who may or may not be from our world.”

He watches as Alexander reads through the files.

“The little girl. Either she or Scoresby opened that portal and with Ian Price being the hired goon to go and get her-something tells me she did that.”

He says, “I don’t know who’s all involved. We’re working day and night, but pretty soon-sooner than later anyway-I’m going to need De la Vega to deliberately read minds- not people in the same room. I’m talking... _distance_. I’m going to need Alvie to be crystal clear on what’s going to happen-how to prepare-and I’m going to need Ruben to shut down an entire grid if we have to. Possibly make us some more Blackout. I don’t know.”

Alexander closes the folder and tosses it back onto the table.

“They’re not going to like it,” Lawless says. “And I don’t want this for them, but this is bigger than them. Bigger than you and me. Can you make that happen if I give you this change?”

“You’ve had Alvie for how many years? The best you’ve gotten is jumbled and garbled visions that you’ve had to rip out of his mind. He’s not going to be able to survive that for much longer. Let me try it this way. Keep your word, give me my three months and then test them. See what they can do without all the junk you’ve been pouring in to them. Your problem is you’re impatient. These skills can’t be developed overnight. And they can’t be honed by drug addled minds. They need time and a safe place to practice with these abilities. Alvie and possibly De la Vega will probably always need some form of medical intervention, but they’re not your slaves. What you’ve tried hasn’t worked. Let me try it my way. And stop second guessing me. Make your decision and hold to it. They are aware of each other now. Try to isolate them again and you’re going to have a full on mutiny on your hands.”

Lawless doesn’t look very happy but he says, “I’m trusting you.”

\----

Two weeks later, the new facility is set up. It’s in a remote area near the mountains-an old military school barrack with some modifications. The medical area has been turned into a lab for Ruben to work, the walls around the perimeter have been expanded. There’s a town nearby-small, population of less than 700, and Alexander insists they be allowed outside the grounds.

“Even if it’s just to grab coffee or have a beer,” he tells Lawless. “Give them some sense of normalcy.” 

Lawless begrudgingly agrees, but makes sure Alexander remembers that this is still a trial period. 

“They are not allowed out without informing you,” he tells him. “Even if it’s just to grab a beer. Alvie is not allowed to go out alone - _period-_ because of his track record.”

He shows Alexander a map and pictures of the grounds. 

“There are several rooms, three stories-two showers on the second and third floor.” 

Alexander nods, approving. 

“I expect a weekly report,” he says. “And you can expect a bi-monthly visit from me.”

\---

Usnavi and Alvie seem perfectly fine with the idea. Alvie is actually very excited. Ruben and Lee, not so much.

“I told you Lyra couldn’t come with us,” Alexander says with a sigh.

“So I just leave her in the care of... _who_ am I leaving her in the care of?” Lee asks angrily. 

“Me.”

Pippa walks into the conference room. Alexander’s mouth opens slightly. He’s ready to say ‘no! You’re coming with us!’

“I’m going to stay here the first few weeks,” she says. “I’m looking for a suitable in-house doctor to care for Lyra. She’s a bright girl and she speaks very highly of you, Mr. Scoresby.”

They’ve all gotten to know Pippa now, except Alvie, who’s known her for a while. Lee looks like he wants to argue, but he likes Pippa. He trusts her.

“I used to work for social services,” she tells him, sitting in the chair next to him. “Children who came from horrific backgrounds.”

She touches Lee’s hand.

“I can tell you that Lyra is strong and she’s clever and a great child. I can see why you miss her so much.”

“I trust her,” Alexander says, looking over at Lee.

Lee lets out a puff of air and leans back in his chair. He’s contemplating arguing again. 

“She wrote this to you,” Pippa says, handing him a carefully folded sheet of paper. “She told me to tell you not to open it until you get there.”

Alexander looks at Ruben next, eyebrows raised in question.

“What if I hurt somebody?” He says. “And I’m too far away from Rochambeau to be properly stopped.”

Alvie chimes in, “We’re going on an adventure, Ruben. And hey, you haven’t worn those band things for like two weeks and you’ve been stuck in a room with my motor mouth and I’m still here. Not a single singed hair on my head. I think you’re gonna do grrrrreat!” He finishes with a Tony the Tiger impression. 

The whole room is staring at him. Pippa giggles a little. “See, Ruben. Alvie thinks you’re gonna be fine.”

“You want me to sleep with a tranq gun?” Alvie asks. “Can I have a tranq gun?”

“No.” Alexander replies seriously, but he is having a hard time trying not to smile. “Dr. Marcado, you’ll be at least a mile from any innocent civilian. I made sure of that. The town is not far, but it’s still several miles outside our boundaries. And if you don’t want to leave the confines of the facility, you won’t have to. The whole point of going is so that you all have a safe place to practice with your powers. It’s much safer than staying here.”

Ruben looks around the table and finally nods. Alvie grins toothily before throwing his arms around him.

“If you want,” he says. “You don’t have to stay in your own room. You can bunk with me! We’ll watch _Titanic._ Have you ever seen it? It’s crazy how the whole ship breaks and people are just falling and screaming and-”

Ruben’s brows furrows and Alvie stops mid-sentence. They stare at each other. Ruben snorts and shakes his head, trying not to laugh.

“‘M sorry,” Ruben says. Then, to Alvie, “Maybe we can still be roommates.”

“I need my own room,” Usnavi says. He finally has his hat back and now that they’re all wearing normal clothes and not loose-fitting hospital attire, he slaps his hands on the thighs of his jeans. 

“No offense,” he tells Lee. “But Hester makes me sneeze.”

“It’s probably Lee,” Alvie says, moving to pet Hester, who shrinks against Lee.

“Don’t,” Lee says, and they both groan when Alvie ignores him and pats her head. He still hasn’t gotten the daemon thing down, even though Lee’s explained it to all of them. 

Pippa looks at Alexander as they get up to leave the room.

“You’ll be alright the first few weeks?” She asks, her eyes almost twinkling. She almost sounds like she’s flirting. 

“I’d feel better about it if you hadn’t sprung this on me. But Lee trusts you and that's going to go a long way with this Lyra situation. I know you’ll do everything you can to keep her safe for him.”

“I will. And I’ll check in with you all regularly. If they want to, maybe Lee and Lyra can talk on the phone. It’s no different than Usnavi calling his family, really. Other than that they’re from a different world and don’t have a home here.”

She holds his hand with both of hers. 

“I’ll catch up,” she promises. 

\----

It's a long drive to the new location. At least three hours to get out of the city. Alvie is a ball of energy in the back of the big SUV that they’re taking. The window tint is so dark it’s almost as if they’ve been blacked out. 

“I really think you should consider a tranquilizer for both Alvie and Usnavi,” Lawless tells Alexander as they prepare to leave. 

“I told you, other than meds that are absolutely necessary for both of them, I don’t want to force anything on them. I asked them and they both declined. Ruben said he hasn’t been outside in he can’t remember how long. And Usnavi says he wants one last look at the city as they leave. He said he doesn’t really like leaving 181st street.”

“And Alvie? He’s hyped right now. That makes him chatty and wiggly.”

“Ruben said he can manage him. They’ve done well together these last two weeks. I handed Ruben the sedatives you recommended. He can administer them if we need to during the drive. Taking care of someone seems to have helped keep him calm. And we both know Alvie needs a lot of taking care of.”

“Check in every hour until you reach there. I’m putting all my assets in one basket. This is a big gamble. I’ll get a notification from Alvie’s tracker when you cross the perimeter.”

“I know. You’ve said as much at least three times in the last hour, dad.” Alex rolled his eyes sarcastically at Lawless. 

“Just don’t make me regret it. The drive should not take longer than six hours, and that’s with built in restroom stops.” He 

points dramatically to Alvie. “I’ll be watching. You take one wrong turn and I’ll have a black ops team on your ass so fast you’ll be seeing double.

“Straight there. I’m just as anxious as you for this move to be over. Now stop talking so we can get started.”

“Fine. Safe travels, Alexander.” Lawless pats the driver side door as Alexander rolls up the window. 

"Hey, y'all think when we get there we can have some kind of housewarming party?" Alvie asks. "I can't drink on my meds, but we can still have a good time."

Lee asks Alexander, "What did he talk to you about before we left? Lawless?"

Usnavi gives him a nudge to his ribs and puts a finger to his lips.

"What?" Lee asks. "We have a right to know. What did he tell you about a war coming?"

Usnavi sighs.

"I'm sorry," Usnavi says. "I may have picked up on...some things…"

Lee stares at Alexander in the rearview mirror.

"Is it possible the war in my world has crossed into yours?"

Ruben's brows furrow. "What's going on?"

"This is what happens when doctors and patients mingle. You can't tell them apart after a while," Alvie chirps. 

There's tension now. Usnavi bites on his thumbnail and stares out the window. Lee stares out the other window, scowling. Ruben and Alvie speak quietly to each other.

\-----

On their first rest stop, Usnavi winces as he steps out of the SUV.

"Usnavi?" Ruben approaches him. 

"I'm okay," Usnavi says, holding his head. "I just forgot…" 

He pauses. Ruben, Alvie, and Lee look at Alexander. 

“Usnavi? You okay?” Alexander asks. “What did you forget?”

"I'm fine," Usnavi says. "I'm just not used to the voices. That's all."

Ruben asks if he can check his pulse. He takes it and gives Alexander a concerned look. 

“What? What do you think?” Alex asks, concern evident. They’re not even out of the city yet and they’re already having issues. But he knows that Usnavi will be better once he’s away from the higher population. 

“His pulse is rapid. And we’ve not even been driving for an hour. We have a long way to go. Usnavi,” Reben turns to address him. “I really think you should let me give you a sedative. It’s mild. You may not even fall asleep. It will just make things bearable for you. You don’t need to cause yourself this pain. It’s not like it’s the last time you’re going to see the city.”

“Hey, yo Doc! I’m so proud of you , man. Did you notice you ain’t even stuttering?” Alvie calls as he and Lee come walking back from the bathroom.

"Shut up," Usnavi murmurs, holding his forehead. "Please, everyone, shut up."

"Navi?" Alvie looks concerned. 

Usnavi looks at Ruben.

"I thought I was getting better," he says, looking terribly sad.

“You are. You will,” Ruben reassures him. “It’s just going to take time. Usnavi, look at me.” He waits for Usnavi to make eye contact. “I promise that I will find a way to help you. I managed to give myself super powers. I created a villain, well, that’s not positive, but the point is… I can help you. And I won’t stop looking until I do. Now please, let me help you now.”

Usnavi nods slightly and lets out a flat laugh. It's definitely not a 'ha ha' laugh. Just the opposite. He's humiliated, they can all tell.

"I guess give me the sedative."

"Hey." Alvie approaches him. "I've been in weird parts of my brain too. I know what it's like-to want to shut it all out. And you can't."

Usnavi nods again. He looks at Alexander and shrugs helpfully.

Ruben gets back into the van and digs out the bag with the sedative vials in them. He looks at a paper Pippa had given him with the doses and fills the syringe accordingly. 

“You’re going to get better. I know it.” He swabs Usnavi’s upper arm with an alcohol pad before inserting the needle. He depresses the plunger and Usnavi shudders a bit. 

Alvie hands Usvani his pillow. “You can use mine while we’re traveling. I don’t mind. That way we ain’t gotta dig yours outta the back.”

Usnavi smiles shakily. "Thank you." 

Lee nods at Alexander. 

"Time crunch," Lee reminds him.

They pile back into the van. Usnavi is propped up against the window with Alvie’s pillow. 

\---

Usnavi sleeps for the next four hours. Peacefully, with no dreams and no voices. 

By the time they reach their destination, Alvie is asleep, drooling on Ruben’s shoulder.

Ruben reached up and gently pats his cheek. “We’re here, Alvie.” He turned his attention to Usnavi. “Usnavi, you still good? No headaches. I know we came through the town a few miles back. How was that?”

“It was… manageable. Like, I could hear them all, but it wasn’t head splitting.”

“Good. That gives us a bar. You’re good with populations under a thousand.”

Alexander let the van role to a stop outside the three story building they would be calling home for the foreseeable future. He checked his phone and seesa text from Lawless.

\----

They’re all exhausted as they dig their stuff out of the back of the SUV. Pillows, bags, coats and gear. They all brought what comforts of home they could. Ruben only has a backpack with a few changes of clothes. Alvie has several sets of scrubs, and a few pairs of jeans and t-shirts. Lee only has one change of clothes, but he says that as long as he has Hester he’s good. Usnavi and Alex have the most of all of them, a single large suitcase each. They all plan to get more. Pippa promises to help with that.

The barrack is large with room to spare. Alexander explains to Ruben that the medical ward had been set up as a makeshift lab. Ruben seems hesitant about that. 

"It won't be like Jamaica," Usnavi tells him softly. 

Ruben nods and forces a smile. "I'll try my best. "

He looks at Usnavi and then Alvie. 

"I'll try and find a way to help you both," he tells them. 

Lee asks, "Usnavi, a word in private?"

“Of course, what’s the issue?” They step away from the SUV to chat where they are out of earshot from the others. 

"What are Alexander and Lawless hidin' from us? You said they spoke of a war and usin' us in said war. What did they say?” He leans in closer, "Because draggin' us out here makes me feel like we're sitting ducks."

“I don’t think that’s Alexander’s intention. I don’t get that from him at all. Lawless says there is a war coming, but Alex just wants us to be able to use our abilities, and be able to make our own choices and live somewhat normal lives. But, I think he also suspects that we will all have our parts to play if it does come to a war. Now I have a question? What is this war from your world you mentioned?”

Usnavi fixes Lee with a stare and reads his mind as images, faces, and names flow through his mind’s eye. 

“That’s not fair. I ain’t got no choice in what’s already happened. Ever since this all began and that little girl walked into my life, everything I’ve done has been to protect her. Now she has some part to play in all of it. I don’t know what it is, but I just want to make sure she is safe. This place is huge. There’s no reason I couldn’t have brought her with us, except that Lawless wants her for something.”

“Lawless does have his own agenda. But he’s also the father of a dead child. He would not hurt Lyra. He really does think he’s protecting her. His daughter was killed by people like us. People with abilities. He’s already rescued her once. In his mind, this would be the most dangerous place he could have sent her. Into the midst of a house full of men with supernatural abilities.”

“But, I’m… I mean… she’s…”

“I know, Lee. I know how you feel about her. I know that to you she’s your daughter. I know it’s cruel and unfair. I do. But for now we have to bide our time. We have to play by Lawless’ rules.”

“But I don’t need to learn how to control my powers. I’ve been using them for years.”

“But Ruben does. He has a power similar to your ability to throw lightning, and he needs help.”

“I control the weather, I don’t throw lightning. I’m not Zues.”

“He still needs help. He thinks he can just suppress it and never have to deal with it. He’s going to have to deal with it, one way or another. I’d rather it be with someone who can guide him.”

“I ain’t never done anything like this before. I mean, even when Lyra-” he stopped suddenly. “No. Don’t read that. Please, you can’t tell anyone about that, especially Lawless.”

“Easy. I won’t tell no one. It’s not my place, especially where Lyra is concerned. Don’t worry. Not even Alexander will hear about that from me.”

“I have your word on that?”

“You have my word. I can't guarantee that Lawless or Alexander won’t find out. But it won’t be from me. But be careful with that. They’re both astute men. They don’t miss anything.

“I trust Alexander. But I don’t trust Lawless. I’ll never trust the man that is keeping my daughter from me.”

“That’s fair. Come on it’s late. Let’s grab our gear and get settled. 

Usnavi walks back towards the van.

“Do we trust him?” Lee asks Hester.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice right now. I want Lyra back as much as you do. But, maybe they really could use our help while we’re here. It may not be a coincidence that their world is gearing up for a war. Lyra said that Azriel told her a war was coming and that all worlds would be in jeopardy. Maybe that’s true. Either way, at least we all came through the portal to the same world. We could have been truly separated. I say we bide our time and do what we can here.”

“Hmm… Agreed. For now.” He headed back towards the front door of the barracks. Alexander directs everyone to their rooms.

\---

Ruben goes to his room, which is an actual room-not some industrious looking cell, and looks around. There are windows with ivy hanging from them and a view of the mountains in the distance. The smoky autumn sky shines bright into the room. He likes it. He picks the bed on the left, closer to the door, giving Alvie the bed on the right. 

“The lab is not a requirement,” Alexander reminds him. “I saw your notes. I know you’re interested in figuring out what the Blackout did to you.”

Ruben nods and sighs at the same time.

“Lawless,” he says, “talked with me about possibly figuring out some other things too. How to help Usnavi where other doctors failed, how to help Alvie...well, _help_ Alvie, and even you.”

Alexander’s brows furrow. “Me?”

Ruben goes to his bag and as he’s digging around he says, “They’ve been studying you at Rochambeau. Have you ever given blood, Mr. Sae-Alexander?”

Alexander scoffs. “No. There’s no telling what I’d do to someone if _my_ blood went into their system.”

“They’ve used it,” Ruben confesses warily. “And your blood-the cellular regeneration, has an interesting effect. The subjects they used had scars-five, six, ten, twenty year old scars-fade over the course of a few days. They felt healthier.”

He dares to make eye contact. “Do you-you understand what I’m getting at? Your blood can possibly be used to heal.”

“What? Lawless didn’t… He never told me any of this. Why would they even want to look into this. Why wouldn’t he say something? He had to know one of you would tell me.” Alexander sits down. “My blood can heal? All these years. The people that I’ve lost. I… Philip. I could have saved them. I could have saved him.”

“So Lawless tells all of us things, thinking the rest of us won’t hear about it?” Lee asks, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frome. “And yet we’re all doin’ whatever _he_ wants because it’s ‘safer’ that way.”

“What do you mean?” Ruben asks.

“He asked Alexander to lead a team,” Usnavi says, approaching with Alvie in tow and realizing what Lee is getting at. “He knows mine and Ruben’s well being depends on the organization right now. As far as he’s concerned-Alvie belongs to whoever brings him indoors, and-”

“And he has Lyra, like he’s not using her as some kind of collateral,” Lee finishes. “If he’s so scared of us-so scared of what we can do-then why are we acting like his lap dogs?” 

Ruben says nothing and pretends to be busy in his book filled with notes. Usnavi kicks at the floor. 

“Hey, guys!” Alvie says, barreling into the room. “I really like this room. It’s so big! It’s also at the end of the hall so I can’t bother anyone when I’m singin’ or rappin’.”

Ruben and Usnavi seem happy for the distraction. 

Lee lingers a moment in the hall with Alexander.

“Just somethin’ to think about,” he mutters before walking towards his own room, Hester hopping at his side.

Usnavi meets Alexander's gaze as he leaves Ruben and Alvie’s room. “I’m not trying to do his bidding. I’m not.” Alexander asserts. “I really am trying to help. It’s why I got all of you out from under his thumb in that building.”

“I know,” Usnavi says. “But it doesn’t make them wrong either.” Usnavi heads for his own room. There’s really nothing else that Alexander can say.

To Be Continued...


	9. A Man Should Have a Choice Whether to Take Up Arms or Not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're so excited to bring you chapter 9 of Rochambeau! We have a lot of exciting things coming up, but we do not discourage you to shoot us ideas! Come chat with us on tumblr! Links at the bottom.

**Chapter 9: A Man Should Have a Choice Whether to Take Up Arms or Not**   
  
  
  


Usnavi looks around the room. There’s a window here as well, but it only looks out onto thick forest on his side of the house. 

It’s quiet here. Not silent, he can hear his teammates. Lee and Hester are still debating about how much they trust everyone. Alvie’s rapping and Ruben is… pleasantly exasperated. Huh. 

Alexander is in his room trying to come up with a way to help them all, but he’s distracted by what Ruben told him earlier about his blood and Pippa, he’s distracted by her a lot. 

Still, Usnavi’s brain is more quiet here than it has ever been. There’s no pressure. He can think. He can breathe. He can sleep. 

He goes over to the bed. His suitcase is on it along with a set of sheets, some blankets and his pillow. Usnavi takes the time to unpack his suitcase, putting things in their place, the closet, the drawers, wherever. He slides his now empty suitcase under the bed before making up the bed. 

He’s almost unnerved by the lack of voices in his head. Even at Rochambeau, when they thought they’d silenced the voices with drugs and medication, they had always been there, just sort of muted. But it wasn’t quiet. It was like the tv was on in the background at that annoying level where you can hear it, but you can’t make out any details. 

This was like the tv was off. Usnavi lays down on the bed and pulls the blankets up over his head. No light. He closes his eyes and focuses. Who to focus on?

_She looks just like my Eliza. I wonder… Can it be her? Reincarnated? Is that even a thing? How is this possible? Stop it, Alexander. You have to focus. These men are counting on you. Even Lyra is counting on you. Pippa. What do we need to focus on first? Do we need rules? A bedtime? No a schedule. Adults don’t have bedtimes. They have schedules. Alvie needs to sleep. Real sleep, probably for a while. Pippa._

Usnavi makes a mental note to consult with Ruben and Alex about Alvie in the morning. Alvie hasn’t been dreaming. He hasn’t dreamed in the last two weeks. Whatever Lawless did to him in that last round of EST and the overdose of drugs has sort of turned off Alvie’s abilities. If they’ve lost Alvie’s ability to predict, then Lawless will never approve of this. This entire experiment hangs on Alvie. 

And Alvie isn’t as dumb as Lawless thinks. He’s aware that there is something different about him. That it’s not just bi-polar disorder that plagues him. He’s been told he’s crazy for so long that a part of him believes it and he’s very insecure that it will ruin his life forever. But a part of him knows that what he dreams has a tendency to come true. He doubted it. Doubted himself. 

Until he saw Ruben. He had been dreaming about Ruben for a long time. He saw him graduating high school early. He saw him get his PhD at 24, one of the youngest at his college. He saw Ruben when he took over the lab at IMH. He saw him when he met Dr. Cole. He saw him when he met Ian in the elevator. He saw him on the plane to Jamaica. Some of Alvie’s worst dreams, the ones he was most afraid of reliving were in this last year. And they all involved Ruben. But Alvie also grew overjoyed when he dreamed that Ruben didn’t die. When he dreamed that Ruben was being brought to Rochambeau. 

Alvie had gone into that EST session knowing that it would end with Ruben standing beside him. It was what gave him the will to survive. Usnavi smiles. Ruben doesn't know it, but Alvie would die for him. They don't know each other that well yet, but Alvie adores Ruben. Because it means that he's not crazy. His dreams _were_ real. 

Ruben seems key to a lot of things. Usnavi focuses on him. 

_The cuffs. I bet I could modify those cuffs to help Usnavi. There has to be something. If they can suppress my abilities, then there has to be a way for me to suppress Navi’s._

Usnavi smiles. It felt good to know he isn’t alone. That Ruben is keeping his word and that he is already working on a solution. 

Lastly he focuses on Lee. He is in his bed with Hester curled up on the pillow. They aren’t talking anymore. It is still such a weird relationship that they have to Usnavi. Lee’s mind, and Hester’s, are on Lyra. Usnavi focuses a bit more. Lee is looking at a picture of her. 

_I’ll get you back. I swear. They won’t keep us apart. I promise I’ll make sure you’re safe. My little Lyra._

_She’s okay Lee._ Hester comforts, _And when all of this is over, we’re going to retire somewhere safe. Maybe in this world. They have a Texas here. You could take her there. Away from her psychotic mother and her murderous father. Away from the magisterium and all it’s drama._

_I could raise her as my own. She already feels like mine. I can’t imagine loving any other kid the way I do that girl._

_I know Lee. I know._

Usnavi pulls away from Lee’s mind. His cheeks are wet. He hopes that if he ever becomes a father that he would love his child the way that Lee loves Lyra. He is absolutely singular in his focus. 

Usnavi opens his eyes. He did it. He’s been able to tune in to each of them and hear only their thoughts. Not a single other voice had entered his mind while he was focused on his target. Hmm. He sighed. It is progress. Baby steps. But steps forward nonetheless. After having to be sedated in the van earlier, he’ll take it. Usnavi rolls over and is fast asleep within seconds. 

\----

Ruben wakes up to bright sunlight filtering into the room. For a split second he’s terrified that he’s bacak in Jamaica and Ian is about to come into the room and demand he get to work. But then Alvie gives a soft snore from the other bed and rolls over in his sleep. Ruben lays still as his panicked breathing slowly begins to subside. His eyes roam around the room and to the window. It’s a bright sunlit morning in the mountains. He turns his body so that he can look out of the window better. 

The overly bright light of a window had taken some getting used to when he had been moved to the room with Alvie at Rochambeau. That first morning he’d awoken and had a full panic attack just from the light. Alvie, being used to a locked door, had seen his panicked expression and labored breathing and pounded on the door calling for help until Alex and Usnavi came running into their room. 

Usnavi had needed to speak into his mind because Ruben had been unable to hear anything in his terror. He had yet to have a morning where he didn’t have at least a few seconds of terror. But, having another person close to him that wasn’t Ian had helped to ground him. It has been especially helpful that it was small, non-threatening, always smiling Alvie. 

Each morning when Alvie wakes he looks for Ruben, almost as if he still can’t believe that he’s here. And then he looks him over as if making sure he’s okay and not panicking. They have developed a routine around this. Ruben waits for Alvie to wake before he goes anywhere. When Alvie wakes and his eyes find Ruben’s, Alvie asks, “Good morning?” and Ruben reassures him, “Yeah, good morning.” 

He’s not sure why, but it seems like they both need the reassurance that the other is there. 

Ruben focuses on the mountains in the distance and the various types of trees that surround their barracks. It’s so different from the tropical greenery that is Jamaica. And Ruben is ever so grateful for that. He didn’t have any desire to go into the town today, but he thought he might go for a walk. Maybe he can find a fern that he can bring in to brighten up their living space. He'll need a planter to put it in. Maybe one of the others could pick one up for him. He loves plants. Ian didn't let him have any and there had been no greenery at Rochambeau, just cold stone. Lonely. 

He observes that every time he thinks of Ian, he feels tingly. Occasionally he notices that if a memory is particularly sharp, or painful, like when he thinks about being drowned or zip tied to a stair railing, sparks appear at his fingertips or run up and down his forearms. A blue flash of light lets him know this is happening right now. That’s the danger of remembering. He feels under his pillow for the cuffs that can dampen his abilities. He hasn’t put them back on, but he hasn’t let them out of his reach either. His fingers rub against the material of the cuffs and the tingling feeling subsides. 

Alvie sighs and rolls over. Ruben glances back at him. Still sleeping. 

He opens the drawer of his bedside table and takes out the pictures of his family. He gently touches the picture of Mercedes in her cap and gown. How many things has he missed in the last year? How many things did he miss before that? Wasted time because Jason needed something. Missed time with his family? Missed friendships? Missed connections with someone that might have actually mattered? There’s a sharp zap from his thumb and an electrical burn in the blanket that his fingers had knotted into as the bitter thoughts coursed through his brain. Ouch? No, it didn’t hurt. But he can smell the slightly singed smell of the burnt fabric. Oops. 

He glances over at Alvie. Alvie’s watching with wide eyes. 

“Did you just burn a hole in your blanket? Yo, that’s gonna get mad expensive if you do that on the regular. Did you feel it? What does it feel like? I think it’s super cool that you have sparkly hands. Wait, not sparkly, Sparking? Hands that spark? Anyhow. It’s cool. Can you do it again?

“Good morning, Alvie.”

“Yeah, sorry. Was it a good morning? Sorry I was distracted by the whole burning your blankets thing.”

“Yes, it was a good morning. Mostly.”

“Cool. Whatcha got planned for the day? You startin’ your research? Gonna see what the lab is like?

Alvie continues to ask questions at a pace that could rival a super computer. Ruben has purposely avoided the lab area when they arrived. He would have to face it today. Usnavi had told him it wouldn’t be like Jamaica. And he knows that, but… another set of sparks dance across his fingers. Ruben reaches for the cuffs under his pillow. 

He’s suddenly aware that Alvie has stopped talking when he sees him put them on. He looks up at him. 

Alvie quirks his head. “Am I bothering you, you know, like, stressing you out?”

His eyebrows knit together with concern.

It’s rare that Alvie only asks one question. 

“No, Alvie. It’s not you. I have to go into the lab today. And I haven’t been in a setting like that since…”

“Since that Ian guy tried to kill you with that toaster.”

“Yes. I didn’t like being with him.”

“I know.”

“You know? What do you mean you know?”

“I told you I dreamed about you. All the time. I saw you there.” Alvie meets his eyes and Ruben is surprised to see deep sadness there. Alvie’s almost never sad. 

“He hurt you.” Alvie says almost in a whisper. It’s the quietest thing Ruben has ever heard from him. “I didn’t like seeing him hurt you. I was glad when I knew you were coming here. Because I knew I wouldn’t have to see him hurt you anymore.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Alvie.”

“Sorry for what?”

“Sorry you saw that. Sorry because, you know, no one should have to know, much less see the things that happened to me. It’s why I didn’t talk to my Ma when I had the chance. I didn’t want her to know what I’ve been through. Not yet at least.”

“You should talk to her. I wish I could still talk to my mom. She died when I was like four. I bounced around a lot after that and finding a home after that never really happened for me. The longest place I’ve lived since then has been at the hospital.”

“You mean Rochambeau? With Lawless?”

“Yeah. Better than the streets, you know.”

“I would think so.” 

“You want me to come to the lab with you? I could keep you company and, like, help set stuff up and all that. I can follow directions. Just give me one or two steps at a time. I can be a good help.”

“Sure, Alvie. I wanted to run some tests with you anyway.”

Alvie’s smile freezes in place.

“Oh, no. Not like what they were doing back at the other place. Nothing that will hurt, I promise. Well, I may need to do a blood draw, but that’s about it. Nothing that will hurt long term. You trust me, right?”

“Yeah, I do. I trust you. Okay. So, when do we start?” 

Ruben sits up in bed and throws back his covers. He stands up and does a full body stretch “In a little while. I wanna shower first and have some coffee. I hope there’s coffee. I forgot to ask last night.”

He drank mostly water in Jamaica, occasionally alcohol if Ian was in a good mood, and he always had to beg for the right to use the shower. Being able to do those things whenever he wants is still taking some getting used to. 

Ruben has always been driven. It’s why he worked so hard for Jason, well, part of it anyway. But being forced to go on four hours of sleep, sometimes no sleep, for weeks on end… It had left him tired and bitter. If he wants a shower and coffee before starting work he was gonna have it. 

He glances at Alvie who was rubbing the spot on his arm where they had implanted his tracking device. 

“Don’t rub it, Alvie. You’ll get used to it in a couple of days and you’ll forget it’s even there. Okay?”

Alvie jerks his fingers away from the spot like he’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Sorry, sure thing, Doc.”

“You gonna be okay on your own or do you want me to go get someone to hang out with you?”

“Nah, I’ll be cool. I might pad around the house a bit, see where everything is. It’s been awhile since I had anywhere to explore. The last place was this abandoned building with like the floors all busted up. That place was wild. I fell through and had to get a dozen stitches in my arm.”

“Geez, Alvie! Didn’t you know better?”

“What? It was an adventure. I pretended that I was looking for aliens.”

Ruben laughs. “I bet that was fun.”

“Yeah, right up until I fell through the floor and that rusty nail gashed my arm open.” 

He rolls up his sleeve and shows Ruben a pink scar that goes up the side of his bicep. “See, I got scars too.”

Ruben smiles sadly. “I’m glad you don’t have more, Alvie. Okay. I’m headed to the shower. Don’t leave the house, yeah? Maybe we can go for a walk outside later?”

“Sure thing, Doc.”

Ruben grabs his clothes and heads for the shower room at the end of the hall. The room he shares with Alvie is on the top floor. The idea was to try and deter Alvie from sneaking out a window at night. 

Ruben undresses and studiously avoids looking in the mirror. He’ll never be used to the way he looks now. But he has reconciled with the reality of the situation. When he was in Jamaica, he’d always had to hurry in the shower. He could never revel in it. He does today. He turns the water on as hot as he can stand it and lets the spray wash over his head, his face, his back. His cuts and bruises are finally all healed and there is finally no stinging sensation when the water hits his body. It feels so good. 

When he was at Rochambeau, he had always been worried about someone watching him or walking in on him. There had not been a lot of privacy there. Here he finally feels completely on his own. It's like heaven. 

When he’s finally done showering, and shaved and dressed, he pads back down to his room. 

Alvie isn’t there. He tucks the pictures of his family back into the drawer, hangs his towel up to dry and then heads down to find the kitchen and hopefully coffee. 

Lee and Alvie are sitting at the table, sipping coffee. Thank God. Alvie keeps trying to pet Hester, who keeps hopping out of his reach while Lee keeps throwing him warning looks. 

“Come on bunny, let me pet you, just once. Please?”

“Arctic hare!” both Lee and Hester shout at him. 

“And quit trying to touch her. It ain’t proper!” Lee finishes up. 

Alvie sulks. “Fine. I just like it because she’s soft.”

“Well, you’ll simply have to find something else soft to touch,” Lee says dryly. 

“Oh, hey, Doc Ruben! I got you some coffee.” Alvie jumps up and goes to where he has a mug already full on the counter for him. "You might have to put in the microwave. You took a long shower, so it’s been sitting there for a while. Sorry. I put some cream and sugar in it for you. Made it the same way I like mine because I didn’t know how you take yours.”

Ruben can only imagine how much sugar and cream Alvie dumped in his coffee. 

He puts the mug in the microwave and heats it up before tasting it. Yup, it’s like drinking pure sugar with milk and a touch of coffee. Ruben smiles. Alvie is waiting expectantly. 

“It’s good, but next time, I prefer just a little bit of sugar and a little bit of milk.”

“Told you,” Lee remarks from the table, Hester nodding in agreement from her perch on his lap. 

So, where is everyone?" Ruben asks. "They still sleeping?” 

“Nope,” Lee responds. “Usnavi and Alex are both early risers. They had their coffee and then headed off to get a few things about two hours ago.”

“Usnavi went to the town?”

“Yeah, said he wanted to try a few things with the voices in his head.”

“Oh, well that’s good. Did they say when they would be back?”

Lee glances at the clock on the wall. “I suspect any minute now.” 

Almost as if on cue, they hear the front doors opening and Alex talking. 

“We brought breakfast!” calls Usnavi. A moment later they come into the kitchen and toss a bag full of breakfast sandwiches onto the table. 

Alvie’s on it first, grabbing three different sandwiches and shoving the first one, a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit, almost whole into his mouth. 

“Slow down, Alvie, there’s plenty of food. You’re going to choke if you eat like that,” Ruben chides.

“Ss o ood! Ot ad nythg wike fis n ges.”

“I’m sorry, what? Your mouth is a little full,” Usnavi jokes. 

Alvie swallows dramatically.

“It’s so good. I haven’t had anything like this in ages.” He shoves the second sandwich into his mouth. This one a ham, egg and cheese biscuit. He makes absolutely obscene noises as he chews and swallows his food. The others stare at him for a second before diving in themselves. 

With breakfast finished and them all sitting around full and satisfied, sipping on second or third cups of coffee, Alexander starts talking. 

“So, I was thinking. We need to get a schedule or some routines going on so that we’re not wasting each other’s time. This can’t be a free-for-all. I know we’re here so that you can have some sense of normalcy. But that includes having some ground rules.”

“What did you have in mind, Pops,” Alvie chimes in. 

Alexander glares at him. 

“What?" Alvie shrugs."You’re like the oldest one here, yeah? You and Lee… And Lee’s bunny.”

“Arctic! Hare!” They both correct again.

Alexander sighs. “I’m not trying to control you. Any of you. I know that we have a lot of work ahead of us and only a short time to do it. So, I was thinking about instituting, like, quiet hours. I’m not going to tell you that you have to sleep.” He pauses and looks at Alvie, “Except you. You have to sleep. Like on a normal schedule.”

Alvie throws his hands up. “I got it. Doc here already told me as much last night when we were choosing who gets which bed and what side of the room we wanted.”

“Ruben, I would appreciate your help with that, since the two of you are bunking in the same quarters. However, I know there may be nights that you have to be up later. I was thinking we could set up the little side room next to your’s and Alvie’s room as a study. That way you don’t need to spend all your time in the lab. I know how things have gone for you in the past and I don’t want you spending all day in there. It’s not good for you. That being said, I’ll let you set your own schedule so long as you're taking care of yourself.”

Ruben nods. He feels a little uncomfortable with Alex’s authoritative tone. Usnavi reaches over and pats his shoulder, pulling him back to the present instead of letting him careen into bad memories. 

“I was thinking that we need to be in our rooms and quiet by 11 pm every night. Some of us,” he glances at Usnavi, “Are early risers. And some of us like to sleep late. I’m not going to tell you what time you need to go to sleep, but I would like for everyone to be up by 10 at the latest. That way we can do meals at a reasonable time and have the kitchen cleaned and ready for the next meal time. Is that okay with everyone?”

They all nod and agree to the schedule. 

To Be Continued...

[break-so-beautifully](https://break-so-beautifully.tumblr.com/) tumblr

[ruvieracd](https://ruvieracd.tumblr.com/) tumblr


	10. It's a Work in Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10! Drunken shenanigans ensue! Let us know what you think! Continue to give us ideas! Never thought we'd make it to a double-digit chapter!

**Chapter 10: Its a Work In Progress**

Ruben stands outside the door to the lab area, journal in hand with his to-do lists. He takes a deep breath, and then another, and another. He bites his lip, and then swallows. He’s been in a lab before; spent years in a lab, actually. Why is this so hard?

 _Because the last time you did lab work was for him_ , a voice in his head says. He taps his fingers against the thighs of his jeans. He can do this. It’s not Jamaica. It’s not IMH. He can do this. 

He lifts his foot to step towards the door, but he just sets it back down in the same place. He can feel his breathing escalating. Ruben knows the feel of an imminent panic attack. He turns to leave; maybe he can try tomorrow. 

“Hey, Doc. There you are. You said you were gonna need to do some tests on me. I’m not a huge fan of needles so let’s get this over with. Come on. Whatcha standing out here for? Come on. I wanna see you in your element. Let’s get started.” Alvie pushes past him, opens the door and turns and waits for him. “What are you waiting for? You scared there’s like rats or something in here? Or maybe it’s spiders. I don’t really like spiders either. They got too many legs. This one time at Mayfield Psych, that was the hospital I was at before,…” 

Alvie keeps babbling as Usnavi walks up beside Ruben. 

“I told you it wouldn’t be like Jamaica.” Usnavi touches Ruben’s arm gently and speaks in a whisper. Alvie is now rapping in the background giving himself a tour of the room. 

“Come on, Ruben," he says. "You don’t need to be afraid this time. You’re not alone now. You have friends. People you can count on.” 

He glances meaningfully back at Alvie. “People that really do care about you this time. You’re in control here.”

Ruben nods. He takes one more deep breath and then steps across the threshold into the room. 

He sets his journal down on the table. His fingers shake slightly as he takes a few minutes to look over the lab equipment that Rochambeau has provided him. He tugs at the bands around his wrist nervously. He rearranges a few things so that they are too his liking. He looks through the drawers and begins pulling out the supplies he’s going to need- phlebotomist equipment for multiple blood draws, electrodes patches and leads to get Usnavi hooked up to the EEG machine, and another set for Alvie. 

He has Alvie sit down first. It’s obvious that Alvie is nervous. He’s rambling on and on at a pace faster than Ruben has ever heard him talk before. 

“Avie,” Ruben says. “Alvie.” The younger man still doesn’t hardly even pause to take a breath. “Alvie!” 

“Yeah, Doc?" he finally stops and looks at Ruben. 

“I’m not going to hurt you,: Ruben tells him gently. "Nothing that we’re going to do here is going to hurt. You know that right?”

“Yeah, Doc. I know. It’s just…”

“What?”

Alvie glances over at Usnavi- a worried, nervous expression written all over his face. 

Usnavi comes over to stand by him. 

“He’s nervous because the last time anyone took blood from him or put those electrodes on him-”

“They nearly killed him,” Ruben finishes. 

He looks thoughtful for a moment and then begins rummaging through the drawer again pulling out a third set of EEG supplies. 

Ruben proceeds to stick them to his own temples, neck and scalp as best he could. He then hooks himself up to the machine and shows Alvie the monitor, smiling.

“How about you watch my brain waves while I do your blood draw? Would that be okay?”

“Yeah, I guess.” 

Alvie is strangely quiet as Ruben prepares his arm for the blood draw. 

Ruben can feel Alvie’s pulse quicken as he tightens the rubber band around his upper arm and swabs the inside of his elbow. He taps on Alvie’s arm looking for a vein. When he glances up at Alvie, he’s surprised to find Alvie staring at him. 

“Everything okay?” Ruben asks him.

“Y-Yeah, everything is great, doc. Really, really great. Super great.”

Usnavi snort-laughs from the other side of the table and then studiously looks away from both of them. 

“Fantastic,” Ruben says.

He locates a vein and readies the needle. “Quick pinch, okay?”

Alvie nods. He watches right up until the moment Ruben slips the needle under his skin and then he looks away quickly humming to himself. His eyes eventually settle back on Ruben’s brain waves and he starts rapping out nonsense rhymes to the cadence of the jumping brain waves. Ruben can’t help but smile. 

He is able to get three vials for the various tests he wants to run on Alvie’s blood. Lawless has given him copies of Alvie’s blood work and brain chemistry test that they’ve run in the years previous. 

Alvie settles again as Ruben takes out a cotton ball and presses it over the needle before withdrawing it. He then covers it with a cartoon Incredible Hulk band-aid. They both giggle a bit at the absurdity. 

“See?" Ruben shrugs. “No harm done.” 

“It’s cool, Doc. I knew you wasn’t lying to me.”

“Would you mind if I put these on your head? As you can see, they just measure. They’re not going to actually shock you. It’s just an EEG machine. It’s not going to do anything different than what it’s doing to me right now.”

“Yeah, okay. I know. I mean like I knew it when you said it earlier. I just don’t like thinkin’ about what happened… you know… before.”

Ruben frowns. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m… I’m sorry they did that to you. I know what it’s like to have no control over what’s happening to your own body.”

They look sadly at each other for a long moment. 

“Yeah,” Alvie finally says. “But it’s cool, because I knew you were coming. I mean, I knew you were all coming to stop them and that we’d end up here.”

Usnavi rolls his eyes from across the table. 

“It was one of the last dreams I had," Alvie says.

“So still no dreams, then?” Ruben asks as he starts to attach the electrodes to Alvie’s head. He works quickly and keeps Alvie talking until he can show him the monitor with his brain waves on it. 

Alvie continues to talk freely as Ruben moves to Usnavi. Alvie talks about Mayfield, about his cousin, about his family, anything. Alvie doesn’t stop talking all while Ruben goes through the same process and draws several vials of Usnavi’s blood. At some point in the process Usnavi joins in and they end up in a full-on rap battle, constantly cracking each other up. 

He pulls over a second EEG machine and proceeds to connect the electrodes to Usnavi’s head. Usnavi and Alvie are completely engaged in their rap battle and Ruben finds himself smiling tapping his fingers on the table to the rhythm that they’ve chosen. They switch out for each other, one beatboxing while it’s the other’s turn. 

Ruben pauses for a moment. He’s having fun. This is definitely different. 

Usnavi glances at him and nods, a knowing smile on his face as he dives into his turn. 

After a long while Ruben has to put a stop to the battle. 

“I know. I know," he says. "I’m a wet blanket calling a halt to the fun, but I need Usnavi to try something.” 

Alvie settles quietly and watches them, his eyes intent on Ruben. 

“Right, Usnavi, you remember that day that we went to rescue Alvie, you figured out that you could touch us and talk inside our heads?”

“Sí, I remember.”

“I want you to try to call to Alexander now, without touching him. I take it you don’t know where he is in the house?”

Usnavi cocks his head to the side and listens. 

“He’s… He’s in his study.” He smiles. “He’s thinking about Pippa. He does that a lot.” 

The three of them snicker. 

“Is there anything you want me to say to him?”

“Tell him that I need to see him and that he needs to come to the lab.”

“I got you.” Usnavi closes his eyes and his brow furrows as he visibly concentrates. There’s nothing for a few minutes. Usnavi opens his eyes and gives his head a shake. “Sorry. Let me try again.”

Usnavi repeats the process of closing his eyes and concentrating. 

There’s a sort of crash sound from the direction of Alexander’s office. They can faintly hear what sounds like, “What they fu-” in Alexander’s voice. 

Alvie starts shaking with silent giggles as they hear Alexander’s footsteps come pounding up the hallway to the lab. 

“What the hell, Usnavi? How are you doing that?” Alexander says as he bursts through the door. 

“I don’t know. I’ve never tried until now.” 

“I guess it worked,” Ruben says dryly. 

“Yeah,” Alex replies, “Call Lee. We wouldn’t want him to feel left out. Oh! Actually, I’m curious. See if you can call Hester.”

“Okay, Boss.” Usnavi closes his eyes. “She’s… she’s hard to pin down…”

“Well, she is a rabbit,” Alvie offers. 

“Shh,” both Alex and Ruben chime in. 

“Oh, right. Sorry,” he whispers. 

“Hester!” Lee yells from above them.

Usnavi’s eyes snap back to Alex. “Uh… I think that worked.”

A few minutes later Lee comes stomping into the Lab, Hester in his arms. His hair is wet and he’s only wearing a pair of hastily thrown on pajama bottoms. It’s obvious that he is absolutely furious at the invasion of Hester’s mind. 

“What in tarnation are you thinking going into Hester’s head like that?!" He roars. "That’s… That’s… Well, it’s worse than touching her is what it is! She ain’t some damn toy that you can play with” 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend-” Usnavi starts.

“I’m sorry, Lee,” Alexander cuts in, “I asked him to contact Hester. We meant no offense. It was an… experiment.”

Lee looks thunderous. “And didn’t we come here to get away from being experimented on?”

“Yes, you did. I can see that I should not have done that. I’m… I’m sorry. I can see how it was inappropriate.”

“I’m s-s-sorry, too,” Ruben chimes in. “I-I st-started all of th-this.” Ruben stares at the floor, his whole body is shaking. 

Usnavi dips into his mind. 

_Ah._

Lee is an imposing, male figure. And he’s angry; shouting at them all. And he’s in the lab. Traumatic memories are flooding through Ruben. 

“Lee, Ruben didn’t mean anything by it. Would you mind taking a few steps back?” 

Usnavi raises his eyebrows at Lee and then speaks directly into Lee’s head. 

_You’re scaring him. He’s been hurt by angry men in a lab setting. I know you’re upset about what I did, but please, just back off for now. I swear I won’t go into Hester’s head again without your permission._

Lee utters a low curse and Ruben visibly flinches. 

“Damn! I’m sorry, Ruben,” Lee says and takes a step back towards the door. “I… I would never want to scare you. You’re… well… You’re you. I mean… I don’t know exactly what’s happened to you, but it’s obvious that someone did you wrong. I wouldn’t ever hurt you. I’m sorry, partner.”

Ruben nods at his words, but doesn’t raise his eyes. His body is still trembling. 

“Let’s all take a break and get out for a while,” Alexander offers. “Come one. I’ll get some sandwiches together and we can go outside to eat.”

“Oh… Picnic!” Alvie cheers. “That sounds great. Except for tuna. I hate tuna. You’re not making tuna are you, Boss. It just smells so… fishy. Ugh.” 

Usnavi removes his own electrodes and then Alvie’s.

“No, Alvie, I wasn’t planning on tuna,” Alexander states with exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Oh, great. That’s great. I like ham. Do we have any ham? There was this nurse one time that was always calling me a ham. I wonder where that expression comes from anyway. Like why would you call a person a ham…”

They all start filing out of the lab. Except Ruben. He’s still sitting there, eyes on the floor. He’s managed to get himself back under control and calm the trembling, but his hands are still shaking a bit. 

Usnavi pokes his head back in the lab. “You good?”

“Yeah… I… uh… I just need a minute.”

Usnavi comes back into the lab and sits with Ruben. 

“You did really great today. Don’t let the last five minutes hold you back. You had fun in here. Try to think about that. It’s not Jamaica. And it’s never going to be Jamaica. These guys, this team. They’re all on your side.”

Ruben nods. 

“I’ll leave you for now, but Alvie’s already making you a ham and cheese sandwich.”

Rueben laughs out loud. It’s a shaky laugh, on the edge of bursting into tears. But it _is_ a laugh. 

“Alvie seems… good for you. And you seem to do well with him. Perhaps you two found each other at just the right time. You have a connection. I could speculate, but I’m not going to. But there is definitely a connection. Use that. His babbling may drive Alexander nuts, but it seems to calm you. And he genuinely likes being around you.”

Ruben sniffs. 

“Thanks. For, for everything. I’m sorry if I messed everything up earlier. I really did need to get Lee’s blood, but I don’t want to ask him about it today. I’d rather… rather… wait a bit. Do you think Alexander will mind if I put off getting Lee’s blood?”

“No. I don’t think he will. But…”

“What?”

“Well, for your own sanity and your ability to work in this lab, I would make yourself come back in here today and get Alexander’s blood.”

Ruben looks thoughtful. 

“Yeah, maybe after lunch?”

“I think that would be bueno. You want me to ask him for you?”

“Would you mind? I kinda want to be away from the group for lunch today. I need to…”

“Recharge?” Usnavi’s expression is playful now and elicits another genuine laugh from Ruben. 

“Something like that.”

“Well, you won’t have much time. Alvie is going to be back in here in about five minutes. Unless you want to go hide from him?”

“From Alvie? No. He’s… He… Like you said, he kinda calms me down.”

Usnavi heads to the kitchen for lunch. 

Just as he said, a few minutes later, Alvie comes bouncing back into the lab, chatting incessantly as always. He’s got a plate full of several sandwiches that he cut up into triangles. 

Ruben doesn’t say much, but he’s grateful for the company. Alvie’s non-stop verbal skills keep him firmly grounded in the present. Ian would have never allowed so much talking. Ruben tugs at his sleeves, a nervous habit making sure his scars are covered. 

“Say, why do you always do that?” Alvie asks. 

“Do what?”

“Tug at your sleeves. We all know you got scars. It don’t bother any of us. Hell, we all got scars.”

Ruben smiles sadly. 

“Not like this. Sure, some scars look cool. Battle scars and all that. I… My scars… I never fought back. I never learned to fight back. I just took it. Every time. It doesn’t show anything other than my weakness.”

“I don’t think so. I think it shows that you’re a survivor. You been through more than most of us and you’re still here. You’re part of this team. Takin’ care a all of us and you know… tryin’ to help us with our issues and things. I… I think you’re pretty cool actually. You rescued me.”

“I didn’t rescue you. The whole team was there.”

“But, you were part of that team. You’ve stayed with me. Everyone else gets tired of my babblin’. You don’t seem to care.”

“Yeah, well, the last place I was at, before Rochambeau, he liked it quiet. So, being in the lab and it being quiet… it makes me think of things I don’t want to think about.”

“Yeah. Well, thanks for not trying to shush me with all my nerves earlier. Mr. Lawless never liked all my talkin’, especially when it was time for the tests and studies and stuff. I always knew when he started shushing me that it was about to… well, that it was about to get rough. I’m glad he ain’t doin’ that no more. I’d rather it be you. You’re nice.”

Ruben smiles. “You’re nice too Alvie.”

They finish their sandwiches and then Alvie says he thinks he wants to take a nap. 

“Wait!” Ruben calls when Alvie heads for the door. “Don’t go. I need to get some baseline data for your resting brain waves. Can you sleep in here? I got a bed and everything and Lawless had them set up a curtained off room where I could monitor you.” Alvie looks a bit apprehensive. Ruben hedges, “It wouldn’t be like before. It’d be just like this morning. No pain. No drugs. No shocks. I swear.”

“Yeah okay. I’ll give it a go. But I wanna grab my pillow from the room.”

“Sure thing. I’ll be here waiting.”

As Alvie leaves, Alexander comes into the lab. 

“You needed to take my blood?" He asks. "What for?”

“I know you feel betrayed by Rochambeau. And I know they ‘ve asked me to look at your blood, but-” Ruben pauses trying to think of the right word. “I swear I’ll guard my results and let you see them first. I have some questions about how your immortality and cell regeneration works. I’d rather it be me studying your blood than some random scientist who may or may not have his own agenda. You… I feel like… Like you sorta saved my life. I’d still be locked in that cell with no freedoms and no one to talk to.”

“I didn’t save your life. You saved yourself. Remember? You almost stayed in that cell. The fact that you’re here is your doing, Ruben. I just opened the door. You’re a brilliant young man with so much potential. Don’t ever sell yourself short.”

Ruben quirks a half smile up at him. “Thanks, boss.”

“Ah, you’ve been hanging around Alvie a lot. I see you’ve adopted his nickname for me.”

“Yeah, he’s a good guy. I like that he keeps me company. It keeps the demons at bay.”

“Don’t let Lee hear you say that. He wouldn’t understand.” 

They both chuckle over this. 

As Ruben is getting set to collect Alexander’s blood, Alvie comes back into the lab. He’s grabbed his pillow and a blanket. 

“I have blankets, Alvie. You didn’t need to unmake your whole bed.”

“It’s cool. It’s cool. I like this blanket.”

“Okay, go over behind that curtain over there and I’ll join you in a minute.”

Alvie heads over to the curtained alcove whilst humming what sounds like a spy theme song. Sure enough he starts hiding behind the curtain and jumping out at random points from his hiding spots. 

Both Ruben and Alexander smile. Ruben, despite his bout with nerves and his shaking earlier, has settled once again. It’s not Jamaica. This is so far from feeling like Jamaica that he’s not even sure what he was afraid of. This is _his_ lab. He’s in charge here. No one orders him around. He sets his own schedule. He’s helping people… because _he_ wants to help them. He takes a deep breath. It feels good to be doing this. 

His hands are still as he collects Alexander’s blood. He’s good at this. He has always been good at this. He’s a scientist after all. 

He thinks back to when Lee came stomping into the lab. One step back in a day full of forward steps is really not too bad. And Lee’s daemon was a damn rabbit. Yes, he was gruff and had yelled and cursed, but none of it had been directed towards Ruben, not really. And when he’d realized Ruben was scared of him he’d backed off. Ruben suspected that Usanvi might have had something to do with that. But that’s what it meant to be a team. Ruben knows he’s broken. He knows that he’s traumatized. But at least he’s not alone. 

That had been the worst part of Jamaica. The loneliness. Yes there had been pain and awful things had been done to him. But it was the lack of human contact and compassion that had really got to him. When he realized no one cared. When Jason, who he had thought was his friend, helped Ian hold him hostage. When it was just him locked away in the house because Ian had gone out partying and he’d been forced to endure days on end without a single word to or from another human. Or when they were there and they just ignored him. He had scratched fresh marks into his own arms, just to feel something. 

He’s never alone here. Not really. Especially not with Alvie around. He finishes collecting Alexander’s blood and goes to store it in the lab refrigerator with the other samples he’s collected today. 

“Thanks,” he says to Alexander. 

“For what?”

“For trusting me. I know you don’t want to do this. But I appreciate that you trust me with it. I’ll keep it safe.”

“I know you will. Now, I believe you have another patient to attend to.”

“Yep. I do. I still need to get Lee's blood, but I think I’ll leave that for another day.”

“Probably best, yeah. After that snafu we had earlier. Sorry about that. You seemed pretty freaked out.”

“I… I’m okay. Now. I don’t handle, well, I don’t handle that whole dominant male vibe very well. I know Lee seems like a good guy. I just don't really know him and he was yelling and mad and I thought it was my fault.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Ruben. I took over your experiment and I shouldn’t have. This is your lab. You make the decisions.”

“Yeah, well, contacting Hester did seem like a pretty cool idea. At the time.”

“Still, knowing how much it startled me when Usnavi got in my head, I shouldn’t have done that. Lee already doesn’t trust me and is only here because, in his mind, they’re holding his daughter hostage.”

 _Hostage_ , the word makes Ruben uncomfortable. 

“And are they? Holding his daughter, I mean.”

“Well, it’s more complicated than that. And I truly believe Lawless thinks he’s protecting her. However, Lee will never see it that way. But she is safe and unharmed.”

“I guess that’s the best thing to hope for with Lawless.” 

Ruben thinks of Alvie unconscious on the bed with the electrodes attached to his head. Ruben frowns; he didn’t like seeing him like that.

“I think Lawless always thinks that his actions are for the greater good. He really does want to save the world,” Alexander observes. 

“Not much good if you destroy the ones that could do the saving.”

“No. It’s not. And that’s why we are all here now.” He pauses and gives Ruben a melancholy look. “I’ll see if I can soften Lee up on the idea of you getting some of his blood.”

“Thanks.” Ruben smiles as Alexander slips out of the lab. 

Alvie’s been oddly quiet. When he goes to check on him, Ruben finds that it’s because he’s fast asleep. Ruben pulls the EEG machine over towards the alcove and as gently as possible places the electrodes on Alvie’s head. He then pulls the curtain and lets Alvie sleep. 

\-----

A few days later, Alexander is in the front room, a large map spread out across the floor with pieces of red tape to mark where some of the unexplainable atrocities had occurred that were in Lawless’ secret folder, when the sound of the electronic lock on the front door sounds.

Pippa pokes her head in before coming in all the way. She smiles at Alexander and holds up a potted plant.

“Happy housewarming,” she jokes. 

She looks at the large map taped to the floor.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a map. One of Lawless’. These are some of the events he wanted me to take a look at. See if I can find a pattern or something.” 

Pippa sets the plant down on a nearby table and squats down next to him. She points to one.

“This one,” she says. “A terrible explosion in some nearby mountains.” 

She looks at him. “How is this for you? I feel like you’ve seen a lot.”

Her dark eyes are big and glittering and intense. She brushes her fingers over his and closes her eyes. She can feel all of the past and present pain rushing through him.

“I’m sorry,” she says quietly. 

“It is what it is. You have to play the hand, you’re dealt, right. I didn’t choose it, but I can’t change it either. I’ve made my peace with it a long time ago.” 

He meets her eyes and he feels like he might get lost in them. He forces his glance back to map. They have a job to do and people counting on him, he reminds himself. His hand still feels hot where she touched him though and it's all he can think about for a moment. 

“There’s something you want to tell me,” she murmurs, but she doesn’t push. She goes back to discussing the mission.

She then says, “Lyra is doing well. She has a phone now. She’s _obsessed_ with it. She's also discovered _Tik Tok_. Lee’s going to love that.”

They talk about other things and she says a little more seriously, “Lawless wants to see progress in the next two weeks. He wants to do a test on Usnavi. See if he can read someone’s thoughts from far away.”

“He’s not ready for that. We’re still workin on him being able to shut out unwanted voices. I can start working with him on that and I know Ruben is working on modifying his cuffs to benefit Usnavi, but Lawless needs to be realistic. It’s not even been a week.” 

He pauses as he considers Lawless and his demands. They’re not remotely realistic, but that’s not what he’s going to want to hear. He rubs his chin as he considers his options. 

“I can start working with him on reading people from a distance. He’s gotten pretty good at reading us one at a time, so maybe we can build on that.” 

"He wants him to 'sit in' on a particular conversation...in Las Vegas, " she says. "Next week."

She says, "Lawless answers to people too. They want their answers when they think of their questions."

The conversation shifts back to more pleasant things and then she prepares to leave. She seems surprised when Alexander asks her to stay for dinner.

"Which one of you cooks?" She asks, grinning. "I know it's not Alvie."

“I’ll cook. I’m the one that has the most experience… Well, I guess that goes for everything. But yeah, I do a lot of the cooking. I don’t actually have to practice any abilities, so I feel like it’s one of the areas where I can contribute. Lee cooks sometimes too. And Usnavi makes the coffee and usually breakfast in the mornings. I like making dinner.”

She smiles a little impishly as she makes her way to go find the others. 

"I like Mexican food," she says, and disappears up the stairs.

\---

Usnavi is slumped over a chair in the lab. His brain feels fuzzy from all the things Ruben has been asking him to try. He isn't focused and his mind wanders. That’s when he hears Pippa come through the door. He cocks his head and listens. 

He’s not really trying to eavesdrop, he’s just bored and she’s a new voice he hasn’t heard today. It’s mostly just idle conversation… until they start talking about him. He swallows. 

“What is it?” Ruben asks. 

“Lawless wants me to go to Vegas next week and try something. Alex doesn’t think I’m ready.”

“Do you think you’re ready?”

“No, I still get a slight headache when we go to the town. It’s manageable, but it’s not Vegas. Also I’ve never even crossed the Mississippi River before. That’s a long way away.”

“We can work on it. You know you’ll have to try. It’s Lawless.”

“Yeah.” Usnavi’s mind drifts back to Pippa and Alex. Oh. Oh! He laughs out loud. 

“What now?”

“Alex asked her to stay for dinner. He likes her. Like, he _really_ likes her. She’s… she’s his Eliza. At least that’s how he thinks of her.” He laughs again. “I’ll see ya later, Ruben. Don’t spend too much more time in this lab. We’re going out.”

“What? Who? I’m not going out.”

“Yes you are. Put your bands on. We’re going into town. You’re not staying here.”

“But… But you just said that Alex asked her to say for dinner.”

“Exactly. And none of us are going to be here. Make sure Alvie’s dress and ready to go to.”

“What? Alvie? He’s never left the grounds. He has a tracker.”

Usnavi calls over his shoulder as he heads for the door, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it cleared. I gotta go see Lee. And Alvie’s gonna love it. Be ready in an hour.”

“But… I’m still working.”

“Done for the day, Ruben. Come on.”

“Fine!” Ruben says, throwing his pen down onto the table. 

Usnavi makes his way to Lee’s room and knocks on the door. 

“Lee? I gotta talk to you buddy. I need your help.” 

"What can I do you for?" Lee asks. He's studying a manual on firearms in this similar but different world.

“I need your help. We need to go into town. All of us. Like, in the next hour. We’ll have dinner there. Maybe go to a bar. The point is, we need to be gone from here for several hours tonight.”

"Somethin' wrong?" He looks concerned.

“Not at all. Something great. Pippa’s here and she’s staying for dinner with Alex.”

Lee smiles now. 

"He finally tryin' to court her?"

He stands up. 

"Alvie comin' too?" He asks and then lowers his voice. "I know you're not tryin' to intrude in our thoughts-what's goin' on between him and Ruben?"

“What do you mean? And yes, Ruben and Alvie are coming. We gotta get everybody out of the house. I needed you because you’re the next oldest and probably the most stable of the team next to Alex. You coming along is the only way we’ll get this approved.”

Lee lets his suspicion go and says, "Alright."

\---

Alvie is ecstatic about the idea of going out. He combs his hair about twenty times and keeps checking the time. Ruben is less than ecstatic. 

"You're going out?" Alexander asks them in disbelief. His face turns red as he looks over at Pippa.

"We've earned it," Lee says. "And I've been itchin' to see how your liquor compares to the liquor in my world."

“Well, I guess if you’re all going…. Are you sure? I made fajitas. You guys sure you don’t want to go out another night? I don’t mind you all going if you’re all together, but are you sure? Tonight?”

"Alex," Alvie says, pulling him closer by the arm. "You have _lady company_. If anything, you should be throwin' us out." 

Ruben rolls his eyes and says, "You could use an evening to sort out training schedules and what not."

“I… suppose…” Alexander glances at Usnavi who has a huge grin plastered on his face. The man winks at him. Actually winks. And not in a subtle way. Pippa, standing next to him actually starts laughing. Alexander sighs. “Fine. Go enjoy your night.”

Usnavi punches the air. “Oh! Who is going to drive?” 

“I could get one of the perimeter guards to drive for you all.”

“No! We don’t want a chaperone,” Usnavi says. “Hmm…”

Ruben, shaking slightly with the turn the evening has taken says, “I-I can drive. I haven’t done it since… Well, it’s been a while, but I can drive.”

“You sure, Ruben?” Alex asks, his voice edged with concern.

Ruben runs his fingers over the bands on his wrists and then tugs his sweater sleeves down over them. “I-I’m sure.”

“Okay.” He turns to Usnavi. “You have a cell phone?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

‘Okay. And you have my number?”

Usnavi sighs exasperatedly, “Yes, dad.”

Now it’s Alex’s turn to roll his eyes. “Fine, get the hell outta here. You bunch of bums. And stay out of trouble. Oh! Lee, how are you going to hide Hester?”

“Easy.” Lee turns around to show off Hester, sticking her head out of a backpack.

“This is going to be a long night,” she comments dryly. 

Alvie makes a move to pat her on the head, but Ruben and Usnavi grab his arm to stop him before he does it. 

“Oh, right. No touching the rabbit. Sorry.”

“At least he didn’t call me a bunny this time,” Hester says from inside the backpack. 

“Alright folks, let’s move out!” Lee calls. 

They all spill out through the front door. Alex takes his phone out and texts the perimeter guard, letting him know that the team is going out. 

He sets the phone down and looks at Pippa. “I guess it’s just you and me. I’m going to kill Usnavi when he gets back. I’m sorry about this. I hope it doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”

Pippa puts a finger on his lips. “I’m an empath. You don’t need to be so nervous. This evening could not be going better. Now, where are these fajitas you said you made?”

Alexander smiles crookedly at her. “This way.” He offers her his arm and escorts her to the kitchen table. 

\-----

The closest bar is just at the bottom of the mountain. It's small and uncrowded. Alvie charges ahead and runs to talk to the bartender. 

"Ruben!" He waves him over, patting the barstool next to him. 

Ruben takes a seat nervously, a small charge sparking from his clenched fist. 

"I'll take whatever you got on tap," Alvie says. "Ruben, what are you havin'?"

Ruben leans in, "You can't drink on the meds."

Alvie makes a 'psh' sound. 

"One drink won't hurt!" He says and frowns at Ruben's raised eyebrows. "Will it?"

Ruben suggests, "How about Coke with lime?"

Lee joins them and asks, "What would you recommend for an out of towner?"

“Depends, how do you like your liquor? Hard or light and fruity?” the bartender asks.

"Tequila," Usnavi tells him, asking for just that.

A while later, they're all talking and having a good time. It's been a while for all of them.

\----

"Oh," Pippa smiles when Alexander brings out two bowls of Coffee Ripple ice cream. "Dessert too? You really went all out."

"How was dinner?" He asks.

"It was delicious," she replies, taking a bite of ice cream. 

Alexander grins. "Good to know I'm doing something right."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," she tells him. "You're doing more for them than anyone's ever done."

"Alvie's got a tracker in his arm, like a microchipped dog," he says, stirring his spoon around in his own ice cream, which is quickly becoming soup. "Lee can't see his kid. They practically needed permission slips to go out and get drinks."

He sighs. "And now I'm going to have to talk Usnavi into picking up on thoughts across the country."

“Well, at least Lawless didn’t require all of you to have a chip. And Alvie has a tracker to keep him safe. Not because he’s a criminal or a lost puppy.”

“How would I know? You know he’s been experimenting with my blood?”

Pippa frowns. "Experimenting?"

“Yeah, Ruben said they have my blood, which I have purposely never given because of my condition, and they are using it on test subjects. Seeing if they heal or something.”

She frowns at that. "Part of the reason I never left is because of what they were doing to Alvie. They hired me on as his therapist. I didn't know they already knew so much about me."

She sighs. "I dont know if we'll ever be free, but I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you put your foot down."

\----

The guys come home some time later and Alvie asks, "How was date night? By the way, look what I scored from the bartender." 

He holds up a baggie filled with weed. 

"Anyone wanna smoke a bowl?" He asks.

"I like tequila," Lee says, his speech slurring slightly. 

He turns to Alvie.

"Smoke a bowl?" His brows furrow.

Ruben massages his eyes with his fingertips and says, "I'm going to bed."

“Ruben? Lee? What the hell? Alvie, give me that! Where’s Usnavi? What in the world. I thought you guys were gonna go get dinner and some drinks?”

"So what?" Alvie laughs, sitting on the table, his legs dangling. "You can get laid, but we can't get high?"

Lee holds up a finger and runs to the kitchen sink and proceeds to throw up. He's holding Hester over, who's also retching 

Usnavi walks in, giving himself a sedative injection. 

"Drank too much," he groans.

“Ruben, what happened? I know you wanna go to bed, but… but… what happened? Why are they all drunk and Alvie has weed? I thought you were supposed to stay out of trouble?”

“Don’t worry, pops,” Alvie yells, making Lee and Usnavi groan and squeeze their eyes shut. “Ruben didn’t let me drink nothing on account of my meds.”

“But why do you have weed?”

Ruben snatches the bag out of Alexander’s hand. 

“It’s going into the lab," he says. "I can use it there. Marijuana, I mean, THC, could be helpful.” He turns to Alvie, “And I told you that you weren’t gonna smoke it.”

“Aww.” Alvie pouts. "I haven't had a good smoke in ages. Please? just a little?”

“No. At least not tonight. It’s time to go to sleep.”

“I suppose you should all go to bed. You bunch of nitwits. We can talk about this in the morning. When I hand out your training schedules.”

They all groan. 

  
  
To Be Continued...


	11. I Swear That I'll Be Around For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee attempts to help Ruben with his powers and an accident leads to a surprising discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year y'all. Here's hoping that 2021 beings new break throughs and lots of changes for the better. I've never been so glad to put a year behind me like 2020. 
> 
> Enjoy this new chapter of Rochambeau. Things are starting to heat up. Thanks for reading.

Ruben has lab time in the mornings and training time with Lee in the afternoons. When Alex had first assigned this, Ruben had been terrified of the idea of time on his own with Lee. He was the least integrated into the team and the most likely to yell at him. Or at least that’s how he’d felt. But Usnavi had reassured him that Lee was the best to teach him control. His power was the most like Ruben’s and by far the hardest to control. Storms had a tendency to run away with him if he didn’t maintain his control. Usnavi had explained that this was what Ruben needed the most. So, Ruben had reluctantly agreed. 

It’s afternoon now. And Ruben is clenching and unclenching his fists, trying to calm his nerves. 

Lee admits that he has no idea how Ruben’s powers work, but he agrees to walk him through how he first managed to control his powers. 

“My father was a real piece of work,” he admits as they sit on the grass outside the house. 

Alvie is behind them trying to turn cartwheels in the soft grass and failing magnificently. 

Lee continues, “He demanded perfection long before I was ready and the results were… less than perfect.” He frowns at the memory. “I had to learn to tune everything else out and just focus on where I wanted the lightning from my storm to go. I never had any trouble generating the storm, but controlling it was a real beast. I took out several trees around our farm. My dad beat me for every one of them that I hit. I finally learned to go practice out in the scrubby woods near our house, where I could hide my failures better. I would guess that you have no trouble generating sparks, is that right?”

Ruben looks down at his hands.

“You’re gonna have to take those bands off if we’re going to practice,” Lee says glancing sideways at him. 

“Right.” Ruben timidly takes off the bands. He’s been wearing them more and more lately. As soon as they’re off, a blue crackling light moves across his skin.

“Well, damn! That’s impressive,” Lee remarks.

“Not if I can’t get it to stop. The more stressed or scared or any sort of heightened emotions that I experience, the more it manifests.”

“Okay, so let’s start there. Close your eyes.” Lee instructs. Ruben complies. He hears Alvie fall over again with a grunt and it makes him smile. 

“I want you to listen. Listen to the wind. The trees. The grass. Listen to the sounds that surround us. Just that. Not me. Not Alvie. Just the wind moving through the trees, the grass. Try to follow it and see where it goes.”

Ruben listens. He can hear it coming, moving down off the mountain towards them. He feels it blow across his skin and then move on down towards the town. 

“Let it take you with it. Deep breaths. In through your mouth and out through your nose. The wind goes where it wants. There are no demands on it. No agenda. It just moves. Like water. There’s no stopping it. It’s always going somewhere.”

Ruben breathes deeply, he feels calm as he tries to let his mind follow the wind. When he can’t track it down the mountain any farther he picks up the next gust coming down the mountain, until the cycle feels more like waves washing over him than wind.”

“Don’t talk, just shake or nod your head. Do you feel any tingling or sparking?”

Ruben takes another deep breath and shakes his head. He doesn’t feel any tingling. He feels at peace. 

He opens his eyes and looks, there’s no lighting on his skin. Alvie rolls down the hill next to them, like he’s a little kid at the park. 

“Do-Do you think this could help Alvie?” he asks Lee.

“I don’t know. Maybe. If he could make himself sit still.”

Ruben purses his lips. “True. Okay, so I calmed myself. What’s next?”

“Nothing for today. I want you to practice being able to calm yourself. I want you to try to go the next hour with no sparks on your skin. And then the next hour after that. And then the next. If you can make it an hour, you’ll be good. I really don’t expect you to make it three. It’s okay if you don’t. But I’ll sit out here with you for the hour if you like. If your power is like mine, you will have to find a way to expel the energy that you are suppressing. I would recommend trying to focus that energy into one point. I started with my pointer finger. And I found something to touch that I could discharge the lightning into safely. Think of it like touching your friend when it’s winter and the air is dry.”

“You mean static electricity.”

“Yes. Find a way to release it. Eventually we’ll see if you can learn to throw it. But your biggest fear is hurting someone with your power, so we need to start with you learning how to keep it off of your skin.”

Ruben nods. 

“Do you want me to talk you through it again?”

“Would you mind? It helps hearing the instructions. I never used to sit still, but then Ian… Well, he didn’t like me moving a lot.” A spark jumps across his arms. Ruben frowns. 

“It’s okay. Just start again. This is all new. Try again.”

Lee continues to talk Ruben through the mental exercises. They end up staying out there for hours. Alvie acts out an entire ninja movie. He’s covered in sweat and grass and dirt by the end of the day. But Ruben and Lee feel strangely rested. Ruben made it to an hour and a half for a record. 

“Thank you, Lee. This was… Well, it was better than I thought it was gonna be.”

“I’m not my father. I work very hard, not to be him. Nothin’ he ever did helped me gain one ounce of control. I had to learn it all on my own. Had to find what worked for me. I found that the quiet was always the best thing for control. That may not be the case for you. You have to find your place in the way of things.” Lee pauses for a moment to consider. “See, for me, my dad was always reacting. Yellin’, beatin’ and fightin’. My best times learning were actually after I got my balloon. After I got up in the sky, where it was just me an’ Hester.” He gives the hare a pet on her long, soft ears. “She likes to sing,” he whispers at Ruben. 

“Don’t lie, Lee. You’re not actually that great at it," Hester chimes in. "He’s the one who likes to sing. But he only does when it’s just us. Or when Lyra needs to sleep.”

Ruben smiles at him. Lee is much gentler than he thought. He’s had it hard too and maybe that’s why he’s held the team at arm’s length for as long as he has. 

“Well, thanks anyway, Lee. It means a lot.”

“You’re very welcome.” 

“Come on, Alvie,” Ruben calls as Alvie flips out of a tree he was climbing. “Time to go in and get cleaned up.”

Alvie runs up to them, panting hard. “This was great. This is the best afternoon that I’ve had in a long time. Can we come outside again tomorrow. There’s like five other trees over there that I want to try climbing. I think I can get all the way to the top of one of them. If I do that you’ll have to go in and get the others because i don't think that they’d ever believe me.”

“Sure, Alvie. You can come out with us again tomorrow. Come on. You need a shower.”

“What? What you mean, I ain’t that-” he stops suddenly when he looks down at himself. “Yeah, okay. I need a shower. Last one to the house is a rotten egg.” He runs ahead of them and into the house. 

“He’s a strange one, isn’t he?” Lee asks. 

“He is. But I don’t think there’s a fake bone in him. He’s… innocent. I mean, I know he’s an adult and has gone through some serious junk, but… He’s not let it get to him. I wish I knew how he does it. I just feel bitter and lost most of the time.”

“It must be nice,” Lee agrees. “Not to feel all that bitterness.”

“Yeah. Must be.”

\---

Lee and Ruben have been at it for the last three days. Ruben is tired and today has been hard. Alvie ran off an hour ago to climb the trees at the edge of the clearing. Ruben hasn’t been able to go more than twenty minutes before the flashes of electricity start showing up on his skin. 

He’s worried. Lawless is demanding to see results, Alvie still isn’t dreaming, Usnavi has a test coming up in a few days and Ruben hasn’t been able to come up with anything that can help him. 

He tries to focus and calm himself once again only to have blue sparks shoot out of the tips of his hair, making it frizzy instead of curly. 

“GAAAAH!!” he growls in frustration and falls back against the grass, sparks flashing across his skin. 

“Maybe we should take a bit of a break,” Lee says. 

“Yeah, I-I th-think s-so.”

“Why do you do that?”

“D-do what?”

“Stutter. You don’t do it all the time.”

“I-I stuttered as a k-kid. I had to get a l-lot of sp-speech therapy to c-corect it.”

Ruben takes a deep breath and wiggles his tongue around as if he could fling the stutter from his mouth. 

“I-it showed up again in J-Jamaica. I-I haven’t been able to sh-shake it.”

“Oh. Jamaica was bad for you, wasn’t it? Where you picked up your scars.”

“Y-yeah. I-I don’t like talking about it.”

“Understandable. So, the stutter only shows up when you’re scared?”

“Or n-nervous. Or f-f-frustrated.”

Ruben is trying to calm his breathing, but the more he tries to get himself under control, the worse the stuttering is.

“You ever notice that you don’t stutter around Alvie.”

“What? Y-yes I do.”

“Not when you’re talking just to him.”

Ruben is quiet for a minute. 

“Can you make it rain in just one spot?” he asks, changing the subject.

Lee laughs, “Of course I can.” He looks over at the tree line and makes it rain on one tree. 

“Cool,” Ruben remarks. 

“Aww, man!” they suddenly hear Alvie’s voice. “Woah. Aaaaah.” There’s a heavy thud as Alvie falls out of the tree. Lee has unfortunately made it rain on the tree Alvie was busy climbing. 

“Mierda!” Ruben shouts and runs for Alvie, Lee following close behind him. 

“Alvie? Alvie, you okay?” Ruben reaches him first and pulls him up to a sitting position against the trunk of the tree. Alvie is a little dazed and doesn’t answer at first. He’d got a gash on his head that’s not very deep, but like all head wounds, it bleeds freely. 

“I’m sorry, Alvie,” Lee says. “I didn’t know you was in that particular tree. I wouldn’t do that to you on purpose.”

Ruben presses his hand over the wound to try to stop the bleeding. “Lee, I may need you to carry Alvie back to the lab-”

“Hey, doc,” Alvie says with a funny look on his face. “Your hands are all sparky,” he slurs. 

“What?” Ruben jumps back from Alvie holding his hands to his own arms. “Mierda, mierda, mierda!” he repeats over and over. He’s left his bands up by the house. 

“S’okay , Doc. I didn’t feel a thing. Actually, that felt pretty good, I feel a little dizzy, but something in my head feels clearer. Like I got a power boost.”

“What?” Ruben asks.

“Really,” Lee says. “Look at him. He didn’t even react. “Do it again.”

“What? No. I’m not gonna do it again. Don’t you think he’s had enough electricity pumped into his system.”

“You’re the scientist, partner. But Alvie didn’t react to your touch. Maybe you can’t hurt people after all. Maybe that’s not how your power works. Here, let’s test it. Touch me instead.”

“What? No. I could kill you.”

“No you can’t, I throw lightning, remember?”

Alvie giggles. “Power boost in my head. Whistles are blowin’, gears are turnin’.”

“I can’t,” Ruben says. “I killed the last guy that I touched like this.”

Alvie stops giggling and looks at him. “No you didn’t.”

“You have to try, Ruben. For Alvie. He’s still bleeding. You’re the only doctor we have.”

“But… I’m scared.”

“And you’re not stuttering. I’m telling you you can do this.”

Ruben steps towards Lee and holds out one finger, blue light arcing off his hands. Lee holds out his palm. When Ruben’s finger makes contact with Lee’s hand, Lee let’s out a yelp and yanks his hand back, shaking it to get the sting out.

“Yoaw! That packs a wallop, Ruben.”

Ruben jumps back from them, shaking now and looking at Alvie’s bleeding head wound. He wrings his hands. “Can you go get Alexander. He’s gonna need to go to urgent care. He probably needs stitches. 

“No. He didn’t react to you touching him. Try to touch him. You two have a connection. I’ve been trying to put my finger on it since that first day when he saw you. Now try it. I’m convinced you won’t hurt him.”

“Give it a whirl, Doc,” Alvie chimes in from the ground. “I feel great!” He goes to sit up a bit more and Ruben and Lee involuntarily reach down to keep him from falling over. Ruben touches Alvie’s right shoulder and Lee touches his left at the same time. A half second later Lee yips again as a blue spark knocks Lee onto his seat on the ground and away from Alvie. 

Alvie looks over at Lee trying to figure out what he’s jumping away from. “What? What happened to you?”

Lee stares at the two of them, rubbing his palm where the electric zing is still tingling across his hand. 

Ruben stares dumbly down at his lightning covered hand on Ruben’s shoulder. He makes to move it, but Alvie reaches up and grabs it. “Don’t. It’s making my head clear. Like really clear. Just… Just stay for a minute.” Ruben looks into Alvie’s eyes expecting to see the normal confused, but happy-go-lucky, lost little puppy look that’s sort of always there. But he doesn’t. Instead it’s as if Alvie is fully awake and aware for the first time.

“Incredible,” Lee whispers. “What do you think is happening?”

“I don’t… I don’t understand what’s happening,” Ruben says.

“Hmmm. Me neither, but I feel better. A lot better. I’m kind of tired. You think I could take a nap in your lab, doc?”

“Yeah, I think that might be good. I think I need to run some tests anyway. You wanna do a sort of sleep study, like you used to, but with no drugs? I just want to see what’s going on in your brain.”

“Yeah. That’s nice.”

Ruben helps Alvie up. Lee keeps his distance from them since Ruben’s skin is still glowing with sapphire sparks. Alvie’s head is still bleeding, but he seems to be recovering from the fall at a quick pace. 

By the time they get back to the lab, Alvie is chattering a mile a minute, per usual. As if nothing had happened. 

“Lee, can you go get Alexander and Usnavi?”

“I’m here,” Usnavi says, coming into the lab. “I heard what happened outside. Alvie, may I touch your head?” He reaches out to touch him but Lee grabs his arm. 

“Hold up, little buddy. Ruben, I don’t think you should both be touching Alvie at the same time.” 

“Oh, right. Yeah.” He lets go of where he’s still been touching Alvie’s arm. 

“Awww. I like the power surge," Alvie whines.

“What does he mean by a power surge?” Lee asks.

Usnavi gently touches Alvie’s temple. “Exactly what he says. Parts of his brain that haven’t been working recently are buzzing with energy. Ruben, I think you may have restarted his dreams. It feels like, if Lawless drained him in that last session, you’ve sort of rebooted him.”

“Mmmm. I’m sleepy. I wanna dream. I haven’t dreamed in a while.” Alvie lays back on the bed and curls up. 

“If I were you, I’d get him a blanket and let him sleep,” Usnavi comments. “Let’s see where this goes.”

Ruben gets a blanket and pillow from a cabinet. He cradles Alvie’s head gently as he places the pillow under it and then drapes the blanket over him. Alvie sighs contentedly. 

Ruben turns and accidentally bumps into Usnavi who yelps and jumps back, rubbing his shoulder where it’s tingling from electrical contact. 

“Right. Sorry.” Ruben fishes the suppressor bands out of his pockets and slips them on. 

“Well that is most interesting,” Lee observes. “It seems Alvie is not only immune to your power, but you act like a… a…” 

“Like a battery for him,” Usnavi finishes. 

“I wanna try one other thing. Don’t get Alex yet,” Ruben says quietly. He goes over to the refrigeration unit where he has drug and blood samples. He’s been steadily drawing Alexander’s blood in small amounts for the last few weeks. He selects one vial and, using a syringe, removes a small amount of it. 

“Ruben, are you sure about this?” Usnavi asks. 

“No, but I’d rather be the one to test it than those bastards from before. I know that I care about both of them.”

He lets a few drops of Alexander’s blood drip onto the open wound on the side of Alvie’s head. He let’s the blood sit for a moment before holding a gauze bandage over his head. 

“You both saw the cut, right. You saw it.” 

Lee and Usnavi both nod. “Yeah, we saw it,” Lee says quietly.

“Okay, good. Lee, go get Alexander.”

\---

When Alexander and Lee return to the lab, Ruben has all sorts of probes attached to Alvie’s head. Alvie is sound asleep. The lights are down low in the lab. 

“”What’s going on?’ Alexander asks softly. “Lee said Alvie got hurt but that he might also be able to dream again?”

“Yes, we’re hoping to find that out. Tell me, can you feel this?” Without any warning, Ruben takes off his bands and touches Alexander. 

“Gah! Damn! What the hell, Ruben?”

“Just watch. Ruben walks over and instead of just touching with his fingertip, he places his entire palm on Alvie’s head. The machine monitoring his brain activity jumps and ticks out a hectic pattern, but Alvie’s body doesn’t react at all.”

“Ruben!-” but Alex stops. “What… What is happening?’ 

“This monitor shows his dreaming brain waves. He’s immune to my powers. But, when I touch him, his dreaming brain has increased output.”

“What? How?” Alexander asks. 

“I have no idea. No one else is immune. Not Lee, not Usnavi, and not you.” Ruben’s scientist brain is alight with the unknown and possibilities. “I have no idea how this is possible. It… It shouldn't be. The electricity from my body is going into him. Lee felt it when we touched him at the same time.”

“Is he drugged?”

“No. He said he felt sleepy and wanted to take a nap. He said he wanted to dream. He fell asleep almost as soon as we got back to the lab.”

“Lee said he was injured?”

“Yeah,” Ruben put the bands back on his arms. “That’s actually what I wanted you here for. He had a gash on the side of his head. You can still see the blood.” He motions to the part of Alvie’s shirt that’s just visible above the blanket. “But… I think… “ He slowly peeled back the bandage from Alvie’s head. 

There is no wound. Not even a scar. Just the dried blood. 

“Uh huh. Just what I thought,” Ruben states. 

“What, he can heal himself now?” Alex asks. 

“No-” Ruben says, but he’s interrupted.

“You can.” Usnavi finishes.

“What? I didn’t…”

Ruben holds up the vial of Alex’s blood. “I put a few drops of this, your blood, on his wound. It works. I have so much work to do. I need to run tests, isolate the different chemicals in your blood, see if we can synthesize the healing factor…” Ruben is rambling now with all the possibilities. 

“Ruben,” Alex says quietly. “Ruben,” he asserts a bit more vocally. “This is dangerous. You can’t actually stop death. I am abnormal. And I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It’s not a fountain of youth, it’s a curse.”

Ruben stops and looks at him. “But, think of what we could do. The people you could save.”

“I know. I’ve been thinking about it. And to be honest, even I don’t know what to think. If it was someone that mattered to me, how could I not use it. But, if it fell into the wrong hands; if _ I _ fell into the wrong hands. This could be devastating to the balance of life.”

“I’ll be careful. It’ll just be for emergencies.”

“Ruben, you don’t even know what the long term consequences may be and you’ve already used it on Alvie. How is that being careful?”

“It was just a cut. I knew from the other studies that it was safe.” Ruben is quiet in his defiance. “I’m a scientist. I would never put anyone in danger, especially Alvie.”

“I know. I just want to be sure you’re thinking this through. Part of what makes life so precious is because it’s finite. Believe me, I am the only one of the five of us that has experience with this. It’s no little thing. I… I can’t die. Don’t you get that? Everyone I’ve ever loved, I’ve had to watch grow old and die. And still I continue. I will outlive all of you. When all of this is over, in whatever form that takes, we will all go our separate ways and live out our lives. Except for me. I’ll still be here centuries from now. I would never wish this on anyone. Don’t you see. I’ll never have anyone to truly share my life with, because my life never ends. It’s just perpetual existence.”

The room is quiet except for the beeping of monitors and Alvie’s quiet snuffling in his sleep. 

“I… I’m so sorry, Alexander,” Ruben says. “I never really thought about it like that. Do you want me to try to help you? Not to die, but, maybe to see if you can break the cycle?”

“I know you’re a genius, Ruben, but I don’t think even you could solve this. I’ve made my peace with it. Nothing is going to change. I shall endure.”

“Hamilton!” Alvie nearly shouts. And then he’s quiet again. 

Alex quirks a half smile at them. “Do what you feel you need to do Ruben, but don’t offer me any false hope. It only makes things harder.”

“Come on, Usnavi. You and I need practice.”

Usnavi follows Alexander out of the lab leaving Lee and Ruben alone with a sleeping Alvie and beeping machines. 

  
  


To be continued...

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	12. So We Survived the Night, What Happens Today?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached a dozen chapters! Hooray! Thank you for all of the comments and ideas. It means a lot to us. We have some really cool things planned-a lot is already written and ideas are being thrown around, but as always, let us know what you think, your ideas, your favorite characters ect

**Chapter 12: So We Survived the Night, What Happens Today?**

Alvie’s knee is bouncing, excessively. He’s chattering and babbling and can’t seem to stop. 

Ruben goes over to one of his locked drawers and opens it. He pulls out a pre-rolled joint that he’s got for when Alvie needs to calm down. 

He lights it, pulls a quick puff and then walks back over to Alvie. “Here. Just a bit, not the whole thing. You need to be able to calm down a bit and focus before you meet with Lawless. And right now, you seem like you’re about to run up the walls and hang from the ceiling. 

Alvie flips through his dream journal that he’s been keeping for the past few days since he started dreaming again. 

“You wrote down everything you could think of, yeah?” Ruben asks. 

Alvie nods and takes another long drag off the joint. “Yeah. And I drew pictures where I could. It’s not painting, but… Well, what do you think?”

He tugs at his short hair nervously, taking another drag on the joint. He passes it back to Ruben, who puts it out, and goes for his vape. His fingers on both hands are busy-one handling the vape, the other flipping through the journal. 

“Mr. Lawless tells me I need to concentrate-to remember details. He says the more I remember details, the closer it helps me to getting better,” he says, scrolling through without particularly looking. “I ain’t a fan of talkin’ one on one with him. He makes me feel kinda dumb, you know? Like he’s the principal and I’m the little kid that’s in trouble. He says I can’t be out because I cause too much trouble. Mostly misdemeanors. Botherin’ people and stuff.” 

He holds out the book to Ruben who takes it and thumbs through it. 

Alvie hasn’t dreamed of anything earth shattering yet, but he did provide the date and time of the meeting that Usnavi is going to. Prior to his dreaming they had only known that a meeting was going to take place. So, instead of Usnavi and Alex having to be gone for a week and a half and _hopefully_ hearing _something_. They now know the exact date, time and place. 

Ruben stares at the drawing. It’s… blurry. There is a man, but no distinguishing features. There’s also a creature next to him. It’s indistinct, but Alvie seems to think it is some sort of Daemon like what Lee has. But he can’t make him out. Alex thought that maybe it was because whoever this threat was, he was from another world. So, maybe he can’t see him clearly. 

Alvie doesn’t agree. He saw Lee and Hester clear enough. 

“Look, just don’t mention Lee and Hester to Lawless. Maybe he’ll buy Alex’s theory. Your visions are coming back, but it’s only been a few days. And hell, the whole reason your visions shut off in the first place was because of Lawless. Although, maybe don’t bring that up either.”

Alvie takes another few puffs on his vape. Ruben waits and then wordlessly takes it from him, putting it on the nearby desk. He’s gotten used to Alvie’s nervous habits.

“Aww. But, yeah, that’s probably for the best,” Alvie agrees. His knee is no longer bouncing. But he’s not smiling yet either. Not really. 

“What’s really bothering you, Alvie?”

“What… What if… Like what if he don't like what I have to say or he thinks my dreams ain't good enough?" Alvie pauses and bites his lip. "What if he tries to take me back. Take me away from the team." _Take me away from you_ , he thinks. “I don’t wanna go back there. Not by myself at least.” He looks up at Ruben with wide, worried eyes.

Ruben touches his arm-it’s the first time he’s touched him without it being almost one hundred percent clinical. 

“Alexander won’t let that happen-” he pauses, folding his lips in. “ _I_ won’t let that happen.”

Alvie’s brow furrows slightly and he cocks his head.

“What Lawless has done,” Ruben says. “It wasn’t right. And your gift is special.”

Alvie nods, looking down. “Yeah...I guess so.”

“I’ve always been jealous,” Ruben says, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Of people that can freestyle and draw and paint and see things in this... _creative_ light.”

Alvie smiles a little too. Nobody ever really talks about him just as a person. A person without abilities or mental damage.

“Like your artbook,” Ruben points out, going to get it from where Alvie had been thumbing through it. “You have a way with colors and...what not.”

“YaSheng,” Alvie offers with a one-shouldered shrug. “I like YaSheng’s stuff.”

Ruben nods, sitting down. He lets Alvie ramble about the art he likes and how this artist does _amazing_ by letting these colors drape around these colors and this piece feels like walking into a dream and it sort of fizzles in Ruben’s mathematical brain, but Alvie is what Ruben’s always admired-abstract thought. 

“My little sister, Paola,” he says. “Would love you. She’s an artist. She was frustrated one evening-trying to sketch her own foot. She felt better when I sat down and tried to sketch _my_ own foot.”

Alvie laughs a little. 

“I didn’t know you had a little sister,” he says.

“Two,” Ruben says. “Kid sisters. I was already a teenager when they were born.”

“My cousin,” Alvie says. “Rachel. Her folks took me in when I was eleven. She’s like my sister. A bossy older little sister.”

They both laugh.

“Sisters are always pretty bossy,” Ruben says. “Even the little ones.”

It’s the first time, he realizes, he’s freely talked about his family without feeling that deep ache. 

“Don’t worry about Lawless,” Ruben says. “You shouldn’t be afraid of him. He should be afraid of you.”

Alvie nods, looking down at the floor. When he looks up again, he’s smiling a little sadly. 

“That doctor,” he says. “The one who hurt you. He should be afraid of you too.”

\---

Alexander sits at a table in one of the spare rooms with Usnavi and Lawless. He promised Usnavi that he wouldn’t have to go through any of this alone, and he intends to keep that promise. 

“We’ll be carrying out our sting operation here-” Lawless says, pointing to a map on his reader device. “At the Lazy Kat Motel a good distance from the Las Vegas strip.”

Usnavi swallows and admits, “I don’t know if I can reach someone outside of the same building, let alone several blocks away.”

“We can’t risk being caught,” Lawless tells him. “You’re going to have to try. Dr. Sain tells me your abilities have tremendously increased. I feel that before you know it, you’ll be able to effortlessly reach minds regardless of distance.”

Usnavi nods, looking down at the table, and Alexander sees the deep sadness in his eyes.

“What is it, Usnavi? What’s bothering you?”

Usnavi doesn’t want to be used as a tool for someone else’s agenda. He just wants to get his powers under control and return home. 

“I don’t… I don’t want to be a spy. I just want to get better so that I can get back to my life. I love what I do, runnin’ the bodega. Being with Vanessa, Sonny, my community. That’s my life. This is all… so… so big.”

“Why not use Alvie?” Alex suggests. “Surely something has been in his dreams that could give you the information you need. Alvie’s dreams have been-as you put it- ‘crystal clear’.” 

Lawless gives him a look.

“We’re using Alvie as we need to, but right now, we need Mr. De la Vega,” he says. “We don’t need to know the future. Alvie has done his part. He’s told us where and when the meeting is. Now we need to hear the meeting. That’s Usnavi’s department. I know you don’t want to do it Usnavi, but this was the deal. We help you with your powers, you help us out on occasion. That’s what you agreed to and that’s what’s going to happen.”

He stands up and pushes his chair into the table. 

“There’s a flight at nine o’clock tomorrow night,” Lawless tells them. “Private plane. No voices. You’ll be able to relax.”

Lawless leaves them alone after that, making it clear that the matter is settled, Usnavi doesn’t have a choice. 

Usnavi holds the sides of his head and sighs shakily. 

“ _No quiero hacer esto, no puedo hacer esto, no quiero,_ ” Usnavi mutters.

“Hey,” Alexander touches his arm. “I won’t leave you alone. I told you that, remember? I’ll be right there in that dingy motel room with you and when you say it’s over, it’s over.”

He takes Usnavi’s hand instead.

" _No estás solo_ ,” he tells him in Spanish. “¿E _ntiendes?”_

Usnavi nods, sniffling slightly, and wipes at his eyes.

“Thank you,” he says in English.

\------

Alvie waits nervously on his bed, one hand tugging at his hair and the other drumming on his thigh. There are little marks on his left temple from when there was poor contact between the electrode and his skin during an ECT session, maybe even a few times. He doesn’t remember. 

The door opens and Lawless walks in, looking bored and hurried. 

“Alvie,” he says with forced cheerfulness. “Long time no see.”

Alvie manages a wary smile. “Hey, Doc-” he stops himself, remembering Lawless was never really a doctor. “Mr. Lawless.”

Lawless stares at him for several seconds and then takes out the usual reader device he carries around with him. 

“Mr. Saenz tells me you’ve made great progress,” he says. “Can you tell me about it?”

Alvie shrugs one shoulder.

“My dreams come in clearer,” he says carefully. “Rub-Dr. Marcado’s helped me a lot-ways to sleep on a schedule and stuff.”

Lawless types something into the device, nodding. When Alvie doesn’t say anything else, he says, “Go on.”

Alvie picks up his dream journal that he’s had next to him and passes it over wordlessly. Lawless thumbs through it, a neutral expression on his face. Alvie tugs at his hair again. They both startle when there’s a rap at the door and Alexander steps in. 

“You were supposed to let me know when you got here,” he says, sounding mildly irritated.

Alvie is relieved. He always feels better when Alexander’s around. He gets the feeling he really cares about him. 

“I figured since it’s just ‘checking in’ it didn’t really matter,” Lawless says dismissively, handing Alvie back the journal, smiling at Alexander.

Alexander doesn’t dare break eye contact nor does he smile back.

“It matters,” he says simply.

“Alvie,” Lawless says, ignoring Alexander. “You seem to be thriving here. Your progress is good. Dr. Marcado has logged your sleep schedule for me-that was nice of him- and you haven’t refused any of your medications.”

Alvie nods furiously-he feels like a prisoner talking to the judge who’s willing to keep him on probation versus throwing him back in the slammer. He relaxes a little when Alexander walks over to him and places a hand on his shoulder. 

“Your tracking implant,” Lawless says, pointing to his arm. “Is it still in?”

Alvie rolls up the sleeve of his sweater to show the permanent bruise where the device was put in. 

“And I’ve noticed you’re still regularly vaping,” Lawless continues, scrolling through his reader. “We weaned you off of smoking so I’d like to work on-”

“Absolutely not,” Alexander says sharply.

Lawless stares at him, eyebrows raised.

“Alvie isn’t a child,” Alexander reminds him. “He’s allowed to vape.”

“We already broke him of several bad habits,” Lawless says, smiling. “It helps him.”

Alexander shakes his head and gives him a look which clearly says ‘go to hell’. Lawless takes the hint, but gets one more jab in. 

“Maybe if we make a bit more progress,” he informs Alvie cheerfully. “Your family might want to see you.”

As he takes leave, Alexander flips him off. Alvie smiles a little.

“He’s such an asshole,” Alexander says. “Don’t listen to him. Your family wants to see you.”

“Maybe,” Alvie shrugs. “I caused them a lot of grief.”

Alexander sits next to him, putting an arm around him. 

“Nobody’s caused more grief to their family than me,” he tells him. “And they still wanted me around. I promise you that your aunt and uncle and cousin want to see you and when the time is right, we’ll make that happen, okay?”

Alvie nods, forcing a smile this time.

“Thank you,” he says. 

“You’re a good kid,” Alexander says, standing up. “You hungry? I ordered Chinese.”

\------

Usnavi’s never been on a plane before, let alone a small private jet, but he’s so overcome with nerves that he can’t even enjoy it. 

As promised, Alexander accompanies him. Lawless doesn’t put up a fight about it. He simply goes over the process and instructs Usnavi to voice as much as he can so they can record the whole thing and take what they need and make sure they don’t miss anything. 

“I have faith in you,” he tells Usnavi, staring out the window of the plane. “And everyone is counting on you. It’s a pretty big deal.”

“Could you not?” Alexander’s voice is flat. Sometimes Alex wishes he could just reach over and sock Lawless in his smug face.

Usnavi sighs and nods and tries to think of his _everyone_. Vanessa, Benny, Sonny, and to a degree, Pete. It makes him sad to know that he can’t be at home to help Sonny work through his new feelings and relationship. He can’t be there to threaten Pete within an inch of his life if he hurts Sonny. He can’t be at home to have Vanessa drag him away from eavesdropping on them playing video games or watching a movie. 

“We’re here.” Lawless interrupts his thoughts. 

Alexander gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze as they exit the plane. 

“There’s a car waiting to take you to the motel,” Lawless says, pointing. 

Usnavi feels his skin prickle as everything starts to sound like it’s underwater. He can hear a jumble of voices - so many that he can’t pick out one from another, but it’s not as bad as it was before. He’s learned how to ‘turn down the volume’ as Ruben had once put it helping him with some of his exercises.

“Where are you going?” Alexander asks Lawless. 

“I’ll be nearby,” is the only response Lawless gives him, pointing to the car. 

\----

The motel is exactly what one would expect a Las Vegas motel called the ‘Lazy Kat’ to look like. There’s one bed with questionable stains on it, a leaky sink, and a strange smell in the air. Alexander checks the room for bugs, both the spy tools and insects. 

“So we just wait for Lawless’ orders?” Usnavi asks, shrugging one shoulder as he sits on the bed. 

“We just wait,” Alexander agrees, crossing his arms.

“This must be weird for you,” Usnavi tells him, smiling a little. “A big hot-shot attorney in this kind of place.”

“I’ve been in much worse,” Alexander tells him. “But it’s been a while.”

He realizes that Usnavi is trying to calm himself down by making casual conversation. Usnavi, he realizes, has never experienced silence. Probably his entire life has had some kind of background noise. 

They’re both startled when there’s a loud rap at the door. Alexander motions for Usnavi to stay where he is before he goes and opens the door just a crack. It’s one of Rochambeau’s agents. Alexander doesn’t know his name, but he recognizes his face.

“I’m here to prep Mr. De la Vega,” he informs him. “Lawless will be calling you in about two minutes.”

As Alexander reluctantly steps aside to let him in, his phone rings. He places it to his ear.

“Yeah?”

“I believe Agent Shores has arrived,” Lawless says. “He’s going to set up a recording device for Usnavi.”

Alexander watches as the agent sets up some kind of reader device to a small clip-on mic that he fixes onto Usnavi's collar. There are also electrodes he puts on his head. 

“What are those for?” Alexander asks casually, crossing his arms.

“To assist in reaching further,” Agent Shores replies, stepping back. 

Usnavi drums on his thighs nervously. 

The agent puts Lawless on speaker phone. 

“Mr. De la Vega,” Lawless says. “Where you’re reaching is the Emerald Green Casino and Resort. Agent Shores is going to play two voices for you. Those voices will begin real life conversing in exactly five minutes. We have eyes and ears on them. We want you to focus on those voices.”

“Okay,” Usnavi replies in a small voice.

Alexander sits down beside him and leans in so Lawless can’t hear him.

“When you say it’s over,” he reminds him. “It’s over.”

The agent plays a recording on the reader device. It’s grainy and sounds far away. Two male voices. One sounds American, the other sounds British. It’s played again, and then a third time, and then a fourth. 

“It’s time,” Lawless says. “Replay that in your head. Your mind will instinctively know where to find those voices. Reach, Mr. De la Vega. Let go of that barrier we’ve taught you to use.”

Usnavi lets out a shaky sigh and closes his eyes, concentrating on voices rather than shutting them out. He allows the agent to replay the recording on a loop, allowing his mind to absorb it and then search for it through the walls and one block away, then two. He hears female voices, children’s voices, and other male voices. They come in waves, hitting him like he’s in a large auditorium. 

“Usnavi?” Alexander looks concerned.

It’s like Usnavi can _feel_ his ability traveling-it’s like being on a roller coaster only the slow climb before the drop.

“Usnavi?” Alexander asks again, and Usnavi can hear him, but it sounds like he’s miles away. He concentrates on the looped recording.

Usnavi took Sonny to the American Museum of Natural History for his eleventh birthday. It was early July, prime time for locals and tourists alike, and the voices inside had gotten so bad that Usnavi blacked out in one of the mens’ room stalls. He never told Sonny. He never told anyone. He was always afraid that people would treat him weird. Treat him like they did right after his parents died, like he was also about to become dust in the wind. 

It feels like that now. 

“Stop,” Alexander tells Agent Shores.

“I’m afraid I can’t,” the agent replies, but nods at the phone where Lawless is listening via speaker.

Alexander picks up the phone.

“I’m shutting it down,” he says.

“Alexander-”

Alexander reaches for the electrodes on Usnavi’s head.

“Stopping the process can cause him serious harm,” Lawless says. “This isn’t like waking someone from a nightmare. His mind is on an entirely different playing field now.”

Usnavi stands up, the electrodes connected to his head pulling the reader device with them, and lets out a sound that sounds like a gasp and a sob and a strangled scream all at the same time.

“This is bullshit,” Alexander says, moving to take the electrodes off of Usanvi. 

Agent Shores pulls a taser out and aims it at Alexander. Alexander doesn’t stop moving towards Usnavi. The agent fires the taser and Alex drops to his knees. But his healing abilities keep him from being incapacitaed. He fights back to his feet and reaches Usnavi just as Agent Shores drops the taser and pulls out his 9mm Glock 19. 

Agent Shores doesn’t hesitate; he fires a perfectly aimed shot straight at Alexander’s temple. Alexander has time to register the high pitched ‘pew’ sound of a silenced bullet leaving the barrel before it slams into his temple. He falls to the ground, dead by all appearances. 

Agent Shores checks him. He turns Alexander’s head to the side. Damn! The bullet didn’t exit. Alex’s eyes are open and blood is pooling beneath him, but it’s a sluggish leak, not a pumping spray. 

“Guess you’re not immortal after all,” He mutters and turns his attention to Usnavi. 

To Be Continued...

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	13. Don't Get Excited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's the resolution to that cliffhanger with which we left y'all. Sorry about that. (Not really LOL)
> 
> You all have delighted us with your comments and reactions. We have really enjoyed reading them and interacting with you guys. Thanks so much for your continued support. <3

  
Usnavi has slumped back down onto the bed and curled into a fetal position. His entire body is shaking and he’s definitely not talking. His teeth are locked together and his eyes have rolled back in his head. 

Agent Shores grabs the phone. “Lawless! We got a problem!”

“What happened? You were just supposed to ensure that Saenz didn’t interfere with Usnavi’s test. What did you do?”

“He kept going for the kid. He wouldn’t stop, not even when I tazed him. So, I followed your standing orders regarding Saenz. You said he’s immortal. If that’s really true, he’ll be fine. He’s not the reason I called though-”

“Then what is?”

Lawless was growing impatient waiting for an answer. There was nothing but a loud thud and then silence for several seconds. 

“You’re little puppet didn’t watch his six,” Alexander says before he hangs up the phone and tosses the agent’s weapon on the table. “You should never turn your back on an immortal you’ve just tried to kill,” he says to the unconscious man. “How thick can you be?”

Alex sets the phone down onto the bed before he begins yanking the electrodes off of Usnavi’s head. He throws the reader device across the room and watches with satisfaction as it shatters against the wall right as Lawless bursts through the door. 

“What the hell, Alexander?”

“Talk less,” Alexander replies flatly. “You don’t talk to me, or Usnavi right now. I told you he wasn’t ready!” Alexander takes a moment to roll Usnavi onto his side and into the recovery position and then checks to see if he’s breathing and unable to hurt himself. “He’s now in the middle of a seizure and is unlikely to report _anything_ on your stupid conversation at all. Are you happy?”

“Am I happy?” Lawless asks incredulously.

Alexander jumps up from the bed, now that Usnavi is as safe as he can be while seizing, and gets right in Lawless’ face. “Yes, you arrogant, bastard… blunderbuss! Are. You. Happy!” he roars. 

Lawless takes a step back. “Now, see here. It was never my intention-”

“Standing orders? Standing orders, _Lawless!_ ” Alexander nearly spits the man’s name out of his mouth.

“Well, it’s not like you’re actually dead-”

Alexander is so done. Before he even realizes he’s doing it, Alex has cocked his fist back and then snaps it forward, punching Lawless square in the nose. 

Lawless stumbles backward and trips over the still unconscious form of Agent Shores, landing squarely on his ass while holding his now gushing nose. Blood pours down across his mouth and chin, dripping onto his fine suit. 

“What? What are you doing?”

“You’ve put my team at risk for the last time, _Christian!_ If you _ever_ try something like this again, I’ll take my team and we’ll disappear. And don’t think we couldn’t. My men are brilliant. And they don’t need _you!_ You need _us._ It’s time you start remembering that. Ruben is a genius who’s going to figure out how to help Usanvi. But he can’t do it in a matter of weeks. I told you we needed time. And you’re going to give me that. There will be absolutely no more tests unless _I_ agree to them. Do you hear me?”

Lawless can do nothing but nod dumbly while clutching at his profusely bleeding nose. 

“And if I _ever_ get wind of a standing shoot to kill order on me or _any_ member of my team, I will make sure it’s the last order you ever give!”

There’s a groan from the bed. 

“Mierda! Usnavi’s coming around. Get off your ass and help me get him to the car! We’re leaving. Now!”

Alexander goes over to the bed and sits next to Usnavi. He takes his pulse and then rests his hand on the young man’s cheek. 

“Hey,” Alexander tells Usnavi, his voice gentling from a moment ago. “I got you. It’s over now.”

“I guess I failed. Did I say anything? Was I able to help?”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not a problem. Is it, Mr. Lawless?”

“Doe. Dot a problum adall,” Lawless says from behind his hand, nose now swelling shut. 

“We’re going back to the plane, Usnavi.” Alex fixes Lawless with an icy stare. “Lawless is going to have a medic check you out as soon as we get on board.”

Lawless nods, catching Alex’s drift. 

Usnavi lets out a low moan and presses his hand to his head. “So many voices. I’ve been able to mute them, but God, it’s like I can’t even do that right now. I gotta get outta here. Please. Help me.” Usnavi’s breathing is raw, shallow and panicked. 

“Hod on,” Lawless says and makes for the door. “I got subthing in da car thad’ll helb.” 

He leaves and Alex looks down at the agent that tried to kill him. He hates getting shot. Especially getting shot in the head. It always gives him the worst headaches because he always regains consciousness while his body is still pushing out the bullet. And moving the bullet through bone, especially skull bone, hurts like a mother!

Agent Shores is starting to come around when Lawless returns with a small box. He hands it to Alex. “I’b not a cobplete idiot. I brought a knockout drug if it got to oberwhelbing for hib.”

Alex opens the box and finds a prefilled syringe. He looks up at Lawless.

“It’s already beasured for Usnavi.”

Alex takes out the syringe and turns to Usnavi. 

“It’s okay, Usnav. I’m going to help. You’re gonna be fine. Just close your eyes, you can rest now. I promise we won’t try again until you're ready. I’m… I’m sorry I let it go this far.”

He injects the drug into Usnavi’s arm and watches as Usnavi slumps down onto the bed and his breathing begins to even. 

“I’m sorry,” Alex says to him one last time. 

Alex turns his attention back to Lawless who is checking on his agent. The man is sitting up and holding his hand to the back of his head. Alexander hopes that the spot where he hit him with his own gun hurts like a bitch. It’s not anywhere near as painful as getting shot.

“Lawless, we need to get on that plane. Do you have any more guys?”

“Yeah, two bore in da car.”

“Go get them. And take your damn lapdog with you. I don’t like him and I don’t trust him.”

Lawless nods and the two of them leave the dingy room. 

\--- 

Usnavi wakes to a gentle beeping near his head. It’s not his room in Washington Heights, where he longs to be. It’s also not his cell at Rochambeau, where he dreads being sent again. And it’s not his room at the team’s barracks. He listens. His head gives a powerful throb and he moans. 

“Hey, buddy.” 

_Ruben._

“Boss, Usnavi’s awake,” Ruben calls a little too loudly. He must see Usnavi wince because he hastily lowers his voice. “Sorry. Bet your head is killing you. That idiot Lawless injected you with ketamine. It’s fast and dirty, but will leave you with a massive headache. I’ll get you something for the pain.”

Ruben gets up to go rummage through a drawer as Alex takes his place by Usnavi’s bed. 

He’s in the lab. Ruben’s lab at the barracks. 

“How… How did I get here? When did I get here?”

“Yesterday, evening You’ve been out for a while. I called Ruben from the plane and he thought it best to keep you sedated for at least 24 hours. I’m… I’m really sorry that it went down like that.”

Usnavi winces, but not at his own pain. Instead, it’s at the flash of memory as Alex recalls being shot. 

“A standing shoot to kill order?” he whispers to Alexander. “Does anyone else know about that?”

“No. And I would appreciate you not telling them.” 

Usnavi manages a smile as Alexander recalls punching Lawless in the face. “Oh, I’m definitely telling them about _that_ ,” Usnavi says with a slight grin. But then he frowns, “We didn’t get anything on that convo though, did we?”

Alexander shakes his head. “It’s okay though. You weren’t ready. You will be. We’ve got plenty of time to get this right.”

“Do we?”

“We do for now. And that’s all that matters. You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip. You will master your powers when you’re meant to. And not a moment sooner. Plus, you’ve got Ruben here who is working hard to help you figure things out. It’s okay.”

“I felt like I got close. Like I was almost there and at the door. Like their voices were just out of my reach but I could sense them. And then, it was like a rubber-band snapped back on me and I couldn’t block out a single voice for miles around. It was too much.” Usnavi looks up at Alexander with worried eyes. “Lawless isn’t going to make me go back? Or take away the phone privileges again, is he?”

“I wouldn’t even let him in the door when we brought you into the barracks. I made him turn his sorry ass right back around as soon as I knew that Lee and Ruben had you.”

Usnavi gives a sigh of relief. “Good, because I’d really like to talk to Vanessa. I’m… I’m a bit homesick right now.”

“I’ll have a phone brought to you. No worries. But you have to promise to rest.”

“I will. I promise.”

Alexander can tell that Usnavi is a little sad. He pats his arm gently. “Lawless should have never asked you to do what he did. Don’t beat yourself up, kid. You have an incredible gift. And I have no doubt that you are going to be able to use it in a way that you want to and that will help others. The only reason you weren’t successful is because of Lawless. Look at Alvie. He was not a bit daunted when it looked like he’d lost the ability to dream. He just pushed through. And now he’s seeing more clearly than ever. Just you wait. You’re already amazing.”

“I don’t feel so amazing.”

“Look at how you help the team work through their issues. You always know what we’re thinking and what we need to hear at exactly the right moment. That alone is invaluable. If you ever consider going back to school, you should consider psychology. You’d be great at it.” 

“I just want to be able to get my life back one day. I love what I do, runnin’ the bodega. I know it ain’t much, but it’s mine, ya know?”

“I understand. It’s good, honest work with dignity and pride. And if that’s what you do for the rest of your life it’s okay, because it too is of value. I just want you to remember that you have a gift, Usnavi. Don’t sell yourself short.”

Usnavi nods. “I won’t, boss. And thank you. Maybe one day, I’ll at least get my GED.”

“I think that would be good for you.”

Alexander smiles as Ruben finally returns with pain meds for Usnavi. “I’m going to have to have a talk with Alvie,” Ruben says. “I swear he’s been rearranging my drawers just to mess with me.”

Usnavi laughs as his mind finds Alvie’s and he sees a memory of him searching Ruben’s lab for the weed baggie that he’d gotten at the bar that night they all went out.

To Be Continued...

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the next few chapters will be Christmas themed... I think you guys will like them. They're really fun and there's some really neat things that we've been dying to share with y'all that you'll finally get to see. 
> 
> We would have posted them earlier, but we got a bit ahead of ourselves and didn't want to spoil you all on the things that occurred in the last several chapters. ;-)
> 
> Anyways, thank you for your comments, they are always appreciated. And we love getting kudos as well. <3
> 
> By the way, let us know for each chapter if you can identify which character/show the title quote is related too. I know many of you are from different fandoms, so you may not know them all. And some of them are obscure. So, if you figure it out, let us know. ;-)


	14. It's a wonderful Life That I've Known: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry late Christmas! This was definitely one of our favorite segments to write and we hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it! As always, let us know your ideas, comments, questions about something. Love hearing from you!

**Chapter 14: It's a Wonderful Life That I've Known**

_Two months_ , Alexander thinks. Two months since he’s become solely responsible for Rochambeau’s team in this small mountain town. 

Lawless has been quiet. _Thank God!_ Alex has continued to give him his regular updates. But he hasn't been back for a single visit, a single test, nothing. Alex made it clear that after the disaster in Las Vegas, Lawless is not welcome to interfere with his team during the trial run. He's made sure he has copies of Alvie’s dream journals, but he hasn't been allowed to meet with any of them. 

Ruben has been making progress on a device to help Usnavi both quiet and focus his abilities as the need arises. But it's not perfect and they're running out of time. On the plus, Alvie’s dreams are growing more clear and concise. It seems that having Ruben in close proximity is great for both of them. 

Ruben is up to six hours of holding off the lightning on his skin at will, and he no longer ha to be in a constant state of meditation to do it. Lee is planning on teaching Ruben how to throw his lightning at the start of the new year, which was still some weeks off. 

He's still trying to synthesize a battle serum that could be shelf stable and used to close emergency wounds based on Alexander’s blood, but that also hasn't been perfected. Alexander isn't sure how he feels about that. He’d love to be able to save his team or those in need, but he's also very aware of the delicate balance of life on the planet. He continues to worry about the potential of something like that, his blood, falling into the wrong hands. It's hard to admit that he's very glad that it's Ruben working on his blood, and not some random Rochambeau scientist under Lawless’ control. 

As best as Alexander figures, Lawless has to have known he was wrong and that’s why he’s given Alexander such a wide berth over the last two months. They've made great strides in developing and controlling their powers and working as a team, but they still have so far to go until they're field ready. 

Alexander takes off his glasses and rubs at his eyes. They're so close, but he needs more time. Time that he's quickly running out of. 

\---

"December 19th!" Alvie exclaims, marking another day off on the calendar. "Hey, Ali? When are we going to get a tree? We need a tree, yeah?"

They're all in the main sitting area which has been fashioned into a living room. Alexander, as usual, is at the desk in the corner going over notes. Ruben is up in his lab. Lee and Usnavi are on the couch watching an old western movie. Lee likes old westerns now.

"A tree?" Lee asks, brows furrowing. "What do we need a tree for?"

"To decorate!" Alvie grins.

This only makes him even more confused.

"To decorate?" He repeats, eyebrows raised high.

"Ali, a tree," Alvie says, bounding over to the opposite corner. "We could put it right _here_."

"Lee and I can go out and chop one down," Alvie suggests. "They're all over the place!"

Usnavi frowns. "I think those trees probably belong to some kind of reserve," he tells him.

"Why do we need a tree?" Lee asks. "What in tarnation are y'all gettin' at?"

Usnavi frowns at him this time. "Did you get that from John Wayne?"

"Not important," Lee tells him and then turns back to Alvie.

"You get a tree. You string lights all in it and then you hang little baubles and ornaments all over it. It's fun,” Alvie explains. 

"And it goes _inside_ the house?" Lee asks.

"YES!" said Alvie with overenthusiastic cheer.

"My sisters write a letter to Santa every year," Ruben says, coming fully into the room. "And I write them back as Santa, even when they got too old. I always wrote, 'And be extra nice to your big, smart handsome brother'."

Alexander smiles. It sounds like something Phillip would have done with the little ones.

"My first Christmas as a husband," he finally joins in. "Eliza tried to cook a large meal all by herself. It was _terrible_. We ate ginger cake and drank ourselves sick on mulled wine."

He recalls it like it was yesterday. Lately, those blurry far away memories have come in waves of crystal clear recollections.

_"Oh, you don't have to pretend to like it," Eliza says, trying to hide her smile with a grimace. Alexander takes another bite of the overly cooked young tom turkey with mushroom dressing and rubs his stomach dramatically._

_"My dear," he says, raising one eyebrow in such a comical way that Eliza laughs out loud. "This is by far the BEST Christmas dinner I've ever had."_

_Normally, Christmas is spent with dozens of people, but the weather this year is bad and the war makes it dangerous to travel and gather. It's just Eliza and Alexander-eating a poorly prepared meal that's quickly followed with cake from Mrs. Templeton and mulled wine. They lose their manners as they become more and more tipsy-to the point of childishly trying to feed each other cake and fall asleep on the floor beside the fire._

He snaps back to reality and sees Usnavi giving him a very sad and understanding look. Is Usnavi reading his mind right now?

"We can have Christmas!" Alvie encourages. "Yeah, we're not with our families, but thousands of people everyday are spending Christmas without their families. Soldiers and offshore oil workers and shit. We can make do."

Alvie is usually pretty nonsensical, but he is actually making a lot of sense. They don't necessarily have to have a large, all out Christmas, but they can still have a decent time with a tree and maybe a holiday film and some food or something.

"I'm gonna call Pippa!" Alvie says. "She'll want in on this!"

As he bounds away to use Alexander's cell phone, he stops and grins slyly.

"Maybe you can kiss her under the mistletoe," he says, waggling his eyebrows.

Alexander throws his pen at him, hitting him in the back of the head as he flees.

"A little tree and dinner together would be nice," Ruben offers. "The drug store around the corner sells those little desk trees that are already decorated."

"Too bad we're nowhere near Manhattan," Usnavi says. "No tamales."

"Alright. Let's go. One quick trip into town to pick up some Christmas cheer," Alexander says. "I'll drive. It sounds like we could all use the pick me up."

\----

At the little store that serves as a drug store, emergency groceries for travelers, and odds and ends, Alvie walks up and down the aisle with the holiday décor. Ruben picks up a small desk tree with lights already on it. Alvie shakes his head.

"We have some real trees in the back from a local farm," an elderly employee tells them, pointing a shaky finger. "You boys visitin' from the city? You them skiin’ types?”

"Something like that." Alexander offers. Ruben still hasn't gotten used to talking to strangers on the regular and who knows what would come out of Alvie's mouth if he let him answer.

"Oh! Yeah, Boss, let's go look at the real trees! Please?"

Alvie says. And Alexander swears he's batting his eyelashes.

They all go around back to where a handful of trees are tethered to the ground. Lee scoffs.

"We're gonna buy a tree?" He asks, looking around at all of the forest around them. "I still say your world beats mine when it comes to strange things."

The old man smiles at him, confused.

"Texas," Lee says with a nod.

"Ah," the old man replies and turns to Alexander. "It's so close to Christmas. I can give you a discount."

“Perfect. Let the kid pick whatever he wants.”

Alvie goes to the largest one on the lot. It's slightly leaning. He looks at Alexander. "This one?"

He then looks at Ruben.

"Huh?" Ruben blinks. "Oh, it's nice."

Usnavi frowns, sensing something off from Ruben.

“I like it! It’s _huge_!” Alvie says.

Usnavi dips a tiny bit into Ruben’s mind and sees all of the plants he's been bringing into the old barracks, decorating his lab and taking care of them with such precision. He doesn’t like to give up on living things. There’s something about Ruben seeing himself as one of these dying trees when he was in Jamaica, cut off from his roots. 

"Alvie?" Usnavi suggests. "It seems silly just to buy a tree that we're just gonna throw out. They had some artificial ones inside-we could put it away and use next year-save money. And then we could put ornaments on some of the ones out front too."

Ruben looks at him. Usnavi deliberately looks away, pretending to be interested in a nearby squirrel skittering by.

"Yeah, we... we can do that if y'all want." Alvie says. "The needles get all over the floor with real ones anyway. You'll be sweeping that mess up for months.”

"They absolutely do," Ruben says, smiling.

They pick out an artificial tree and Alvie picks out the lights and the ornaments. He picks out a 'My First Christmas' ornament for Lee, who seems confused.

When they get home," it takes some finagling to wrestle the tree out of the box and then even more trouble stringing the lights on. They're not evenly placed, and the tree is just a tiny bit crooked.

"So this is a Christmas tree?" Lee says, crossing his arms. "Huh."

He knows Lyra would absolutely adore it. The thought makes him sad.

"Pippa said she'll come to Christmas Eve dinner!" Alvie exclaims, texting on Alexander's phone. "Hey, any chance I could get a phone for Christmas? My own phone?"

Ruben tries to straighten out some of the crooked ornaments.

"That would be nice," he agrees. "If Pippa can come."

"We should watch some Christmas movies to teach Lee about Christmas," Alvie suggests. " _The Grinch_ , _Home Alone_ , _Elf_..." he counts them on his fingers.

Hester goes under the tree and curls up under the tree skirt. Only Usnavi knows this means that Lee is warming up to the idea of Christmas.

"I agree. I'll see what we can stream," Ruben says

He flips through the options on their tv. “If we start now, while we're decorating we could get through this one. It's pretty good," Ruben says.

"Oh yeah!" Usnavi chimes in. "That's my favorite one!"

"Which is it?" Alexander asks. "You know, for those of us who can't read minds."

" _It's a Wonderful Life_ ," Ruben replies.

"Oh yes. That's a classic. Put that one on," Alexander agrees.

“I’ve never seen it,” Alvie says.

“You’ll love it,” Ruben assures him.

Alvie continues to decorate for a little while, but eventually he curls up on one of the couches next to Ruben. Usnavi settles into one of the chairs and Lee and Alex share the other couch.

Watching a movie is not something Lee's really ever gotten used to in this world. He's always intrigued by it. He wonders if Lyra's gotten to watch any movies.

He likes this story. He's familiar with the concept of angels, but they don’t look like this in his world. Not for the first time, he wonders what really happens after you die.

His thoughts drift to Alexander. A man who can't die. And yet, he is still celebrating life, holidays, and other people. He still sees things as good and worth fighting for.

That's worth some thought.

By the time the movie is finished, Alvie directs them to the fireplace. Lee doesn't miss the way Alexander quickly wipes his hand across his eyes, but he says nothing. He knows men like Alexander do better when they aren't coddled. He's one of those men. They've had it too rough-all they have going for them is their ability to survive tough times.

"Usnavi picked this out-" Alvie points to the little nativity scene set up on the mantle.

He picks up the little manger. "Here's Jesus. They were a little cheap-whoever painted this. If I had the supplies, I'd give him a face, but this year he'll just have to be a ball of pizza dough."

"So now there's a tree," Lee says carefully. "Indoors. With lights. _AND_ a baby that's...raised by livestock?"

He picks up one of the resting cows.

"Did they find the baby under a tree?" He asks. “Religion in my world is a little overbearing, but if this Jesus thing works for you, I'm not one to judge."

"It's not a conversation we can get through in a night," Usnavi says, putting the cow back. "Besides I think the tree thing is borrowed from another culture."

"Lyra would love this stuff," Lee murmurs, fingering one of the stockings Alvie has placed on the mantle. They don't have hammer or nails, so he's weighted each one with a nativity piece.

"She's very curious, that kid," he continues, a little smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

\---

The days get marked one by one. It goes pretty fast. Lawless is supposed to be here by January to see what progress they've made. Of course, they've discovered that Ruben acts as a 'charge' to Alvie's ability, and Lee has been helping Ruben to control his own ability. Alvie keeps a dream journal and does weekly therapy sessions with Pippa, who carefully records the pieces she believes are visions. Alexander is putting together places where the next 'strike' might happen and figuring out who exactly their enemies are. Usnavi can go into town and get coffee or pick up groceries and not be plagued with inner chatter.

On Christmas Eve day, Pippa shows up with boxes and boxes of things.

"Tamales?" Usnavi's eyes light up.

"Sonny and Benny helped me," she explains.

Usnavi looks a little sad but reads the hand-written note attached to the box filled with food.

> _I found four different tamale ladies in one day. A record._
> 
> _\- Sonny._

He smiles and continues to dig through the box. "Abuelita Hot Chocolate!" He exclaims.

"And-" Pippa pulls some sort of material out of a bag. "New pajamas for everyone." They are red and black buffalo plaid bottoms with matching black and red-sleeved raglan tops. 

"I _love_ pajamas," Alvie squeals, jumping up and crowding into her personal space to see what they look like.

She hands him a set of pajamas and he runs down the hall with them.

Usnavi laughs. "He's going to change. He wants to wear them right now."

Pippa smiles as well. She passes out the rest of the pajamas. Lee takes them skeptically. "They all the same? We're gonna look like a traveling circus all dressed alike."

"It's tradition," Alexander pipes up.

"Speaking of tradition. I'm going to Midnight Mass at the little church in the town, anyone want to join me? You don't have to. But, I always go and light a candle for my Abuela," Usnavi adds.

"Can you light candles for people that are still alive?" Alvie asks, returning. He looks snug and cozy in the PJs. 

"Who are you wanting to light a candle for, Alvie?" Pippa asks.

Alvie tugs at his hair nervously. Usnavi dips into the surface of his mind and sees him playing with a little girl on a trampoline and sitting together on the couch under a blanket sharing popcorn. He sees a teenage girl hug him, sobbing, and there bandages on his wrists. He sees the same girl screaming at him, pointing to the door. Alvie's screaming back at her, wiping tears away. He picks up another thought and knows it's cold outside:

> _It's Christmas time. Alvie is getting ready for sleep therapy._
> 
> _"Did my aunt or uncle call?" He asks an attendant hopefully._
> 
> _"No."_
> 
> _"Did Rachel call?"_
> 
> _“No. Now please lay back, Alvie.”_

Usnavi pulls away with a frown. Alvie’s never really been able to catch a break it seems. 

"I wouldn't mind going," Ruben says, also wearing his new pajamas. He gives Pippa a small hug and cheek kiss with a quiet thanks. "To mass. I used to go too."

"Before that," Pippa says. "How about dinner and maybe a game or two?"

She looks around. "I know a great recipe for mulled wine."

"Now that sounds like something I could get into," Lee chimes in.

Pippa gets busy heating up the tamales along with some rice and beans. When that's done Alexander helps her hand out plates of food to the guys. Usnavi gets the two extra tamales on his plate and smiles at Alex and Pippa when they hand it to him.

Lee pokes at the corn wrappings.

Usnavi laughs and shows him how to unwrap them before eating them.

The food is plentiful and delicious and they all have a little more wine than they should-even Ruben who is snort-laughing at everything which is kind of endearing to everyone. 

While they're mingling, trying to decide what to play, Pippa takes out a few games from one of the bags she brought. A deck of cards, a trivia game, and UNO. Lee confesses he used to play cards for a living, the trivia game isn't really fair, but UNO is fairly simple to learn, so they all agree.

Uno is normally a game that can look like it's about to be over and then suddenly reverse and drag on. But for some reason the first round is over fairly quickly. Usnavi yells "Uno" and then is out on the next go around. They all sit for a minute and then Alexander looks at Usnavi.

"You cheated."

"What?" Usnavi tries to look anywhere but at his teammates. "I wouldn't. How?"

Ruben throws his handful of cards down. "Oh for crying out loud. We're all idiots. Who plays cards with a mind reader?"

"Usnavi!" Alvie yells. "No fair."

"What? I'm sorry, I can't help it."

"You're supposed to be learning to control it." Alexander growls.

"Sorry. I'll sit the next ones out and just watch."

"Usnavi, you and I should go have some fun sometime. I bet we could put that gift to good use." Lee says through suppressed laughter.

"Ooooh, like in Vegas!" Alvie adds gleefully.

"No! Absolutely not. That is completely out of the question." Alexander says.

"Awww," Alvie pouts. "You don't have to be such a stick in the mud. I was only jokin'. Sort of. Usnavi would kick ass though," he mutters the last line under his breath, but they all hear it.

\----

They attempt to play Poker, but Lee's the only one who's any good at it, and then Pippa announces that she brought everyone a present. She begins digging around in one of the bags.

"For Alvie," she says, and he tears the paper open. It's a sketchbook and fancy colored pencils.

"Mr. Scoresby," she says, handing him a wrapped parcel. He seems surprised, but delighted by the gesture.

"Thank you, Ms. Sain," he says. He very carefully tears the paper off and slides a small box out.

Lee opens the box to find a shiny silver picture frame with slots for five pictures.There are pictures of Lyra and Pan on it. Five of them tucked into the frame slots at odd angles and overlapping. There's a spot at the bottom that's vacant. It reads _our picture here._

"She also wanted to give you this," PIppa says, handing him a pocket watch. _His_ pocket watch. He'd thought he'd lost it in the fall.

He appreciates the gifts but he wants _her_. He wants Lyra. He thinks about the letter tucked away in his pocket that Pippa had given him. He keeps it on his person at all times. He’s read it so many times that he doesn’t even have to look at it anymore to know what’s in it. 

> _Dear Lee,_
> 
> _I hope you are doing well. I hope your arm is better. Pan and I are doing well. We have our own room here with a television. Pippa’s been very kind to us and she spends most nights with me in my room. My new favourite food is cheeseburgers and French fries. When we see each other again, we’ll have to eat at McDonalds. I miss our time in the balloon together. I can't wait for us to take to the air again. Just us and no one to tell us what to do. I miss you. Hope to see you soon._
> 
> _Lyra_
> 
> _P.S. Pan misses Hester too. Tell her we said hi._

There’s something scribbled out with ink between ‘I’ and ‘you’ and ‘miss’ is written above the dark smudge.

He knows that her letter was probably read by someone at Rochambeau before approval was given for him to receive it. He knows Lyra well enough that if she were going to write an honest letter, she’d tell him everything that was going on-even the not so fair-weathered pleasant things. It’s enough, for now, just having some kind of way of hearing her voice. He’s never had a cheeseburger or know what a McDonald’s is, but he’s definitely going to sit down there and eat a cheeseburger with her. 

Pippa hands Ruben a bag and he pulls away the tissue paper to retrieve a potted plant with a red ribbon tied around it.

"It's lavender," she explains. "Should have a very calming effect."

"Thank you," he tells her, smelling the flowers.

She gives Usnavi a GED study guide and winks at him. He blushes. She remembered him talking about wanting to go back to school.

Pippa walks up to Alexander, who looks slightly nervous now that he's seen everyone and their gifts-little personal touches on each one. He was nervous about the sentiment behind it whatever it was.

She hands him an envelope and says quietly, "Merry Christmas."

She walks away to assist Usnavi in going over the study guide.

Alexander opens the envelope and retrieves a folded sheet of paper.

It's a letter from Lawless. A letter saying the trial period is going well and that he has decided to keep things the way they are indefinitely. Under those are some things in quotes. They're notes about how well each of them are doing. They're Pippas's notes.

 _Alexander does everything like he's running out of time_ one of them says and he smiles a little, not lost on the irony.

_It is my professional opinion as a licensed psychologist that he remain in charge of this team._

Alexander smiles and takes a deep breath. It feels like the first time he’s been able to really breathe since he was introduced to his team. He folds up the letter and puts it in his pocket. 

\---

Roughly an hour later as they're all preparing to leave for Midnight Mass, Alvie takes Ruben by the hand with a knowing look in his eye and leads them out around back. The back of the barracks have been fashioned with tables for sitting, but Alvie leads them past the tables to the fountain at the edge of the grounds.

"What are we doing out here?" Ruben asks as Alvie tosses him his coat. He shrugs his own coat on.

Ruben can't help but look away and laugh softly as Alvie pulls a baggie with an already rolled joint out of his coat pocket.

"I don't have enough for everybody," he says, putting it between his lips. He raises his eyebrows at Ruben.

"I don't have a light," Ruben tells him, shrugging one shoulder.

Alvie's gaze falls to Ruben's hands.

"No," Ruben tells him.

"Come on," Alvie says, taking his hand. "Just one little spark. That's all it takes."

He looks expectantly at him. Ruben hesitates but places his finger to the joint and focuses-it's all about focus, Lee had told him.

A small burst of light heats the joint and Alvie leans back, grinning.

"I ain't never lived anywhere with trees and mountains," he says, taking a long drag. He wordlessly offers it to Ruben, who finally sits on the edge of the fountain beside him. 

Ruben accepts and takes a hit, coughing. "It's been a while," he says.

Alvie just stares at him, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"It's beautiful out here," Ruben says. "No light pollution."

"No light pollution," Alvie agrees.

He watches Ruben suffer through two more attempted hits, falling into a fit of coughs, and then says, "Here."

He takes a long, purposeful drag and then takes Ruben's warm face in his cold hands. He presses his lips to his, releasing the smoke into his mouth, but lets the physical contact linger for a moment. When he pulls back, Ruben's mouth opens slightly, releasing the smoke.

"Merry Christmas," Alvie says softly, standing up, putting the joint out, and heading back toward the barracks, a pep in his step.

\---

The group all piles into the SUV and head to the little church in the town at the bottom of the mountain.

They file in, and take up one of the pews near the back. Usnavi is strangely quiet. He's lost so much, but he always feels at peace when he listens to the familiar words of the Christmas mass. His parents took him every year, in addition to the weekly mass.

When they died, he had refused to go. Abuela knew he was depressed. Usnavi knew she knew. But he still considered taking his own life. It was just so hard without them. He had walked onto the GWB with every intention of jumping. He stood there looking at the long drop down into the grey waters of the Hudson.

But then he'd thought about _It's a Wonderful Life_ and all he could be missing. When he'd turned around, Abuela was there. She'd followed him at a distance. He'd melted into her, crying hard for the first time since they'd died. She'd dragged him to mass nearly every day for weeks after that. Things had gotten better. He learned to cope. But he could never go to Christmas Mass. Abuela always wanted him to. It was the one service he wouldn't attend.

But then, Abuela had died. He has attended every Christmas mass since then. As the service draws to a conclusion, Usnavi walks to the candle stand. He lights a candle for his mom and dad and his Abuela before blowing out the match and closing his eyes. He recalls the best times he had with all three of them. He takes a deep breath and listens. He tries to recall their voices. He’s done this often. He likes to think that they were guiding him.

He calms his mind and listens. 

His eyes fly open. He can hear. He can hear all the way back to the compound.

He listens again, just to make sure he heard what he thought he heard.

His smile when he turns from the candle stand could light up the sky.

"What is it," Alexander asks.

"It's time to go," he says, almost bouncing where he stands.

To Be Continued...

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	15. It's a Wonderful Life That I've Known: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it guys. The final chapter of Part 1 in the Rochambeau Universe. Please be patient with us as it might be a bit before we roll out Part 2 (Or possibly part three, see end notes for explanation). Hopefully not too long though. ;-)
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed the little reprieve they've gotten for Christmas. The drama and action will pick right back up with the next installment.
> 
> Also, cover art is by @folkpunk over on tumblr.

Art by [@folkpunk](https://tmblr.co/mQX3BPsVn8VYNoAqFRfIj1A) on Tumblr

Ruben and Alvie are each lighting their own candles. Usnavi waits as patiently as he can, but he can’t make himself stand still.

"What's gotten into you?" Lee asks. "I don't see what is so exciting."

"I just... love Christmas. Season of miracles and all that," Usnavi replies.

"If you say so," Lee remarks with skepticism.

They all get back into the SUV and head back up the mountain. Usnavi is almost beside himself with anticipation by the time they pull into the driveway.

"There's another car here," Alexander says.

"Yup!" Usnavi says, popping the 'P' at the end with zeal.

"Who is it?" Alexander asks, brow furrowing.

"Let's go find out,” Usnavi responds, a massive smile still plastered across his face. 

They climb out of the car and head into the building.

Lee enters first and stops dead in his tracks. "Lyra?"

She turns from where she was sitting on the couch and charges for Lee.

"Lee!" 

"Lyra!" he yells and meets her on his knees. The two hold each other as if they never want to let go. And they don't.

They are both crying into each other's hair as they both let out a chorus of 'I miss you's and 'I'm sorry's.

Behind them Usnavi, Ruben, Alvie, Pippa, and Alexander are all teary eyed at the beautiful reunion in front of them.

Lee and Lyra pull back to look at each other as if they can’t believe they’re together. Then they’re pulling each other back into another bear hug. 

Pippa moves over to stand next to Lawless.

"What brought this on? You make a six hour drive on Christmas Eve?" she whispers. 

"Children shouldn't be away from their families on Christmas," he remarks just as quietly.

Pippa smiles and moves back towards Alexander.

"Did you know?” Alexander whispers to her. 

"No. I had no idea." She slips her fingers into his and squeezes his hand.

"Usnavi!" he gasps quietly and he turns to look at the beaming young man. "You... You heard them, didn't you? All the way back at the church. You heard them." 

Usnavi smiles even wider. "I did. I told you it was time to go home." He wipes his cheek of a fresh tear. "It's perfect, isn't it?"

"It is," Alexander agrees. It’s several miles between the town and the barracks. Usnavi has never heard that far away before. Alex was not sure Usnavi’s powers would even work over long distances, especially after the Las Vegas debacle. This is a breakthrough for the young man indeed. It made the reunion in front of him all the sweeter. 

"It's a Christmas miracle. See, I told you Christmas was magical," Alvie says a little too loudly.

Lee and Lyra laugh through their tears as they finally break apart and look at the others. Lee wipes his eyes as he tries and fails to look like his normal serious, no-nonsense self.

Pan is perched on top of Hester's head in mouse form.

"Let me look at you kid," he says holding Lyra at arm's length.

It's been months since he's seen her, really seen her. Her hair is longer and she's a bit taller. She looks healthy, well cared for.

Lee takes Lyra over to the tree and explains why it's indoors and decorated and to his great satisfaction, she's in a state of awe. 

It's late now and Alexander points that out. It reminds Lee of the watch and he shows it to Lyra. She leans against him, smiling.

\----

Lawless stays at a nearby hotel, but Pippa stays the night in one of the extra rooms. After everyone retires for the evening, Alexander asks her if she'd like a cup of tea before bed.

"It'll help you to sober up," he says, and she nods, taking a seat at the kitchen table. She's wearing the same matching pajamas.

"Can you get drunk?" She asks suddenly.

"Not for long," he says, putting the kettle on.

Pippa nods.

"Milk or sugar?" He asks, going to the cupboard.

"Both, please," she replies.

When they're sitting across from each other, nursing their cups of tea, she says, "I had to practically beg Lawless to let Lee see Lyra." She smiles a little. "You wouldn't believe the waves of emotions I got from them both."

"He really cares about that kid," Alexander agrees, nodding.

"I also got some kind of emotional turmoil from Ruben," she remarks. "Not necessarily bad just... _up and down_ if I could describe it."

"Guy's a walking bomb," Alexander reminds her. "He's bound to be nervous."

"It wasn't nervous," she says. "I brushed past him and felt...well, I'm not sure."

"What do you feel from me?" Alexander asks, cocking his head slightly.

"Let's see." Pippa reaches over and takes his hand in hers.

She closes her eyes for a moment.

"I feel a sense of calm that wasn't there before," she says. "And warmth. There's an underlying worry, but I think that might always be there."

She opens her eyes. "I feel loss."

She threads her fingers through his.

"It's a deep, yearning loss," she says quietly.

Alexander sighs, nodding.

"I'm so sorry," she tells him. "For everything that's ever happened to you. For everything that _will_ happen to you."

"I just wish I could end it," he says, laughing softly, but it's not a ha-ha kind of laugh. "I just wish I could be like everybody else and not have to watch everyone I love leave." He pauses and looks up at the ceiling, "I eventually stopped caring about people because I know in the end, I'll be here and they won't."

Pippa takes his hand again, but not to read his emotions, just to be with him.

\---

"Bathroom's just down the hall," Lee tells Lyra, tucking her into bed. "I'm in the room next door."

"Okay," Lyra says, snuggling deeper under the blankets. "Will you be here in the morning?"

"'A course I will."

He leans down and kisses her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Darlin'."

Lee is just getting into bed himself, some time later, lights already out, when he hears his door open. Hester's ears perk up. Lee listens. The men rarely come into each other's sleeping rooms.

To his surprise, someone dips onto the bed and he sits up on his elbows.

"Lyra," He frowns. "Everything alright?"

"I'm sorry for getting upset," she finally says. "I know you didn't have a choice."

Pan curls up next to Hester. They feel warm next to their heads.

"You don't need to apologize," he says. "You've done nothin' wrong."

"Do they know?" She whispers. "About your powers?"

Lee nods.

"The doctor told me that _they,_ someone from our world, want me back," she says so quietly he's not sure he's heard her correctly.

She lets out a long, shuddering sigh.

"He told me _they_ said I belong with him."

“Well, _they_ ain’t done nothing to earn your favor, whoever the hell they are. And you ain’t got to go to them unless you choose to. But you don’t have to. Ever. You hear? They ain’t gonna take you if you don’t want to go.”

Lee leans down and, ever so gently, kisses the top of her head. 

She breathes out a sigh of relief against him. 

Lyra cuddles in closer to him and he strokes her hair, not to wake her up, but just to reassure himself that she is really here in the flesh. 

_My Lyra,_ he thinks. _My little Lyra._

God he has missed her. Lawless had said it was only for a few days, but Lee would take it. He longed for the day when his fighting would be done. He'd take Lyra somewhere safe where they could live in peace. When his fighting days are over. But for now. This is enough. He has friends, a team, Lyra and Hester. For this moment in time, things are right. He is at peace. It’s perfect.

Lyra's eyes flutter open. "Hey," he smiled down at her.

"Hey," she replies with an equally calm and satisfied smile.

He couldn't have been more happy that she had walked into his life and stolen his bacon all those months ago. He'd never dreamed he could love someone so deeply as he did Lyra. The little girl had turned his whole life upside down and he wouldn't have it any other way.

\---

It’s early Christmas morning, not even light out yet, and Ruben is tossing and turning. He and Alvie had gone to bed without hardly anything other than a ‘goodnight’. They never talked about the kiss. Was it a kiss? What did it mean to Alvie? He turns and looks over at Alvie’s bed. Alvie is fast asleep on his stomach, drooling into his pillow. It’s almost like he senses Ruben looking at him though because he stirs slightly and props himself up on his elbows.

“Morning,” he says, voice foggy with sleep.

“Try four in the morning,” Ruben tells him. 

“‘s cold,” Alvie says, getting out of his bed and going to Ruben’s, sliding in next to him like it’s no big deal. 

"Wh-what are you doing?” Ruben asks with an edge of panic in his voice, which has risen by an octave. 

Alvie smirks, "I told you, it's cold. Is this okay?"

For a moment, neither of them say anything. 

"I suppose it _is_ cold and this does feel... nice," Ruben concludes. 

They're quiet again for a few minutes before Alvie reaches up and touches his cheek gently. 

“Hi,” Alvie finally says quietly, entangling their legs. 

“Hello,” Ruben replies, still a little dumbfounded.

What are they doing exactly? Ruben wonders if Alvie is actually the mind reader because right then he presses his lips softly to Ruben’s and murmurs, “Wanted to do it properly.”

“You like me?” Ruben asks softly, chuckling a little, like he can’t believe his own luck.

Alvie maneuvers himself so that he’s on top of him. Little sparks of static light up the darkness and Alvie meets Ruben’s wide eyes. “You still okay with this? I’m not scaring you or nothin’?” he whispers.

Ruben takes a moment to self assess. Yes. Yes, this is _definitely_ okay.

“I’m okay. Thank you for asking though. I… You don’t scare me, Alvie. I think I like you too.”

Alvie runs his hands through Ruben’s hair, which is now sticking out in various directions due to the static from his own powers. His own hair is too, only his is shorter so it’s probably not as silly looking.

“I like you a lot,” he grins, kissing him again, very gently. When he pulls away this time, he’s making direct eye contact. He kisses the corner of his mouth. “You’re stupid smart.” He kisses his jaw where there’s a little scar there. “Stupid handsome.” He kisses next to his ear. “Stupid good at taking care of plants. Making coffee.”

“‘Cawfee’,” Ruben repeats, mimicking Alvie’s thick New Jersey accent. 

“What?” Alvie chuckles. “Coffee.”

Ruben initiates the kiss this time. Alvie is warm and he smells nice and he allows Alvie to part his lips with his tongue, move his fingers through Ruben’s hair more. It’s strange, he thinks. He’s normally so shy and this is definitely not something he’d normally do, but there’s something about Alvie that brings out a side of him that’s not so shy and reserved. It’s a shame he’s been locked up so long. He’s such an amazing individual. Maybe Alvie was right. 

Maybe Christmas miracles are a thing.

\----

Later in the morning, Usnavi is in the kitchen making chorizo, potatoes and eggs for tacos when Ruben comes in. They're both still in their matching pjs.

"Coffee." Usnavi points.

"Thank you," Ruben mutters, running a hand through his bed-head curls.

"You have fun last night?" Usnavi asks, careful not to let Ruben know he's dipped into the surface of his thoughts.

"I had a pleasant evening," Ruben replies, shrugging one shoulder. "Good coffee."

Usnavi nods and doesn't push any further. Ruben gets the items to make cinnamon rolls and they work in relative silence for a while.

"It's nice to have a kid here," Usnavi finally says. "I mean, she won't understand the concept of Christmas morning and we don't have nothin' for her, but still."

Ruben frowns, brow furrowing. He walks out of the kitchen and returns with a few wrapped parcels. Usnavi looks at them.

"They read 'To Lyra',” Ruben says.

"Pippa," they both guess at the same time, and then start laughing.

"It's no wonder Alexander is crushing on her so hard," Usnavi says. "She's as much of a mother hen as he is."

Ruben nods. "They would make perfect parents."

Alvie saunters into the kitchen next and doesn't even pour his own cup of coffee. He just steals a sip from Ruben's. He also steals a bite of his taco.

Ruben hands his coffee to Alvie and then goes to make another cup for himself, again. He’s just finished stirring in his half teaspoon of sugar and he takes a sip of the warm beverage. 

“You keepin’ warm Alvie?” Usnavi’s tone is completely innocent. But he’s caught both of them just as they’re about to swallow. 

Alvie chokes for a half a second, but recovers quickly. Ruben spews coffee from his lips and gasps for air, caught completely off guard by Usnavi’s statement. The coffee splatters on the counter and the kitchen floor. 

Usnavi smirks. “I’d have thought that Alvie would have seen that coming,” he says innocuously, not looking at either of them. 

Alvie licks his lips. “Maybe I did…” He waggles his eyebrows up and down at Ruben who is beet red and still trying to recover his breathing. Then, in pure Alvie fashion, he changes subjects with lightning speed. "I think we should take Lyra sledding today," he suggests.

"We don't have a sled," Usnavi points out.

"Shit," Alvie says. "I never owned a sled. Rachel and me used everything _but_ sleds. Shower curtains, garbage can lids, trash bags, kiddie pools, cardboard…"

Ruben laughs as he’s cleaning up his splattered coffee with a kitchen towel. "It could be fun," he agrees.

"As long as Lee's up for it," Usnavi reminds them. "Lee's like a hawk around that kid."

Ruben leaves the kitchen briefly to go and get dressed.

"You have fun last night?" Usnavi asks Alvie, fixing him a plate.

Alvie nods. "I _love_ Christmas."

"You love a lot of things," Usnavi says slyly. 

Alvie laughs and shoves him playfully.

\---

Lyra stood looking dumbfounded at all the wrapped gifts under the tree.

"But what are they for?"

Lee, apparently just as confounded by the idea, answered, "Apparently they're for you to open." 

"And then what?"

"Well, they're yours to keep. They're gifts."

"And they're all from you and the team?"

The others join them in the living room with their cups of coffee and plates of food. The scene of Ruben's fresh baked cinnamon rolls fills the whole house with a mouthwatering scent.

Both Lee and Lyra had looked skeptical when he'd been rolling up the doughy mixture. But then, when the warm sweet smell had started rolling out of the oven, they'd stood waiting for them to be done in the kitchen with all the others.

"All of these are for me?" Lyra asks.

"They've all got your name on them," Alex answers. "Why don't you open them."

Lyra tentatively picks up a package. It's wrapped in a red and green plaid paper. She picks at the tape, trying to be neat.

"No. Just rip it, Lyra. Tear the fu- I mean, tear the paper off real fast," Alvie says from his perch on the couch next to Ruben.

Lyra smiles a full faced grin and rips off the paper.

It's a beanie. She stares at it. It's red but with a bright multicolored puff of wool on top.

"Here, let me show you," says Usnavi, jumping up to help. He slides it on to her head, over her ears. She blushes a bit as he pats her head. "There ya go kid."

The rest of the packages are similar in theme. Warm thick overalls like the kind she wore at Bolvangar. A warm matching coat. Gloves, Thick wool socks, scarf, mittens, rubbery boots.

The last gifts, labeledfrom Lee, are not clothes. One is a picture frame with a picture of Lee in it and an empty space where they can put a picture of the two of them together. The other is another picture frame, this one with pictures of Pan and Hester. The last two have bath products in them, flower scented soaps and creams. She loves each and every one of them.

The rest of the packages soon follow suit. All the guys, Pippa and Lawless had gotten her a present each. Four of the packages had Lee's name on them.

"I don't understand though. It says they're from you all. But none of you knew what they were.

Usnavi smiles as Lawless enters the room, fresh from his hotel.

Pippa had made her wait to open the two from him.

"Good morning, everyone. Merry Christmas. Do I smell cinnamon rolls?"

"Yeah, Ruben made them. They're so good!" Lyra says. "Can I open my presents from you?"

Lawless sits down in the chair next to Lee. "Sure. You didn't have to wait for me you know." 

"Pippa said I did."

Lawless nods to Pippa. "Thank you. That was very thoughtful of you."

Lyra tears into the final two presents and revels at each of the gifts. A gift card to the local coffee shop near Rochambeau that Lawless has brought her pastries from and some of the brightly colored barrettes for her longer hair that she's taken to wearing. 

"Thank you Mr. Lawless,'' she politely says to him, just as she has done for each of them with all the other gifts. "It's perfect. I love it."

She goes over and squeezes in next to Lee in the overstuffed chair that's become his.

"So, now what do we do?" she asks, idly playing with the barrets and trying different ones in her hair.

Lee smiles, but it's got a bittersweet tinge to it. The barretts make her look so grown up. He's not ready for that yet. But he knows there is no stopping time. He wonders how long it will be before Pan settles into a permanent form.

"Sledding!" Alvie yells. “We can go sledding. I'll get some trash can lids and maybe some trash bags. Whatever we can find that has a flat bottom. It'll be so fun. Just you guys wait."

"Sledding?" Lyra asks.

"Oh, wait. Hold on a minute," Lawless says. I've got one more thing out in the car. I'll be right back."

He leaves and returns a few minutes later with a real, wooden sled.

"What is that?" Ask Lyra and Lee.

"It's a sled!" says Alvie in awe. "But, like a real one. The kind you see in movies. I ain't never seen one of those in real life before. Can We use it?"

"I think we should let the little lady go first, don't you, Mr. Alvarez?" Lawless admonishes, but he has a smile on his face.

"Oh, right. Yeah. The kid should go first."

"What? I don't even know what it is. I'm not going first!"

"Oh! Can I show you, then? I'll be happy to go first! Ruben you wanna sled, don't you? Of course you do. Come on. Let's all go get dressed in something warm and go sled. Then we can come back in and have hot chocolate. It's what they do in the movies. Come on, it'll be fun."

Alvie doesn't wait for an answer. He grabs Ruben's hand and drags him from the room leaving the usual stunned silence.

"Lyra, you should put on all the things you got for Christmas. It's cold outside. They'll keep you warm while you play,” Lawless recommends.

Lyra smiles. Alvie was clearly excited, so it must be fun. She doesn't really know him, but his enthusiasm is catching.

"Come on, Lyra. I'll help you get into all this winter gear," Pippa offers. The two of them collect the packages and head towards Lyra's room.

Lee is thoughtful as he watches her go. He shares a meaningful look with Hester, before he turns to address Lawless.

"You did all this, didn't you. For her." He looks over to Usnvai, who is still smiling. "I thought at first, like the others, that it was Pippa. But she hasn't left the house since we got back from that Mass thing last night. And those gifts weren't here at that time. This was your doing, wasn't it?"

"It was," he replies.

"And you didn't take credit for it at all?"

"I don't need to. I figured you guys hadn't got her anything because you didn't know she was going to be here. Kids should always have gifts on Christmas. Gifts and family. That's sort of the point of the holiday."

"I don't know much about this holiday, but it seems pretty special so far. Thank you for making her so happy." He's thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe you're not such a bad guy after all." 

"I know you love her, and I know she loves you. I just want her to be safe."

"So do I. That's all I've ever wanted for that little girl."

\---

An hour later they're all on the top of the hill in warm winter gear watching each other take turns. Lyra finally coaxed Lee into going down the hill with her after watching Ruben and Alvie do it in tandem a few times and taking several solo runs herself.

Alexander stands next to Lawless, smiling serenely.

"Thank you for today. We needed this. They've been so stressed lately and I wasn't going to really give them a break."

"You've done well with them, Alexander," he comments, looking sideways at him. "I hate being wrong and I hate being left outside of the process."

"I remember," Alexander says with a smile. "You like to be in the room when decisions are being made. I know this was a huge step for you."

"And one that seems to be paying off. You've gotten more out of them in the last three months than I would have. Alvie seems happy and healthy and his dreams are more vivid and detailed. I'd still like a bit more from him, but I can't say I can complain. I'm very impressed."

"Thank you for ending the trial run. I haven't told them yet. But I think they will all be able to breathe a little easier knowing that they won't be thrown back into cells and cut off from their families again."

"I've always been afraid of the things I don't understand. It's my weakness. Always has been. And after my daughter... I never thought that this would work so well."

"They're a good group. All of them. It probably helps that we're all broken in some way. We've all suffered. There is no better teacher than experience and loss. It's the only thing that produces true compassion."

"That's the one thing I worry about. You won't need compassion. You're going to need grit."

"I know. But they needed to heal first. Once they find their rhythm, their confidence, then they'll be ready. I know it's slower than you had wanted..."

"It is, but it's faster than what I was getting," Lawless concedes.

"And I'm not having to rip it out of them," Alex says with a raised eyebrow. He still hasn't fully forgiven Lawless for what he pulled with Alvie, and later with Usnavi. And he damn sure isn't going to let him forget anytime soon.

"Touché." Lawless states.

\---

Ruben sips his hot chocolate as he stares into the flames of the fire. His cheeks feel warm and he knows they are rosy from the cold. He'd had fun. For the first time in a long time he had let himself truly enjoy the time with his new family. That's what it had started to feel like. A new family. Still, sledding with the others had reminded him of when he used to take his sisters out sledding. Sipping his hot chocolate reminds him of his mother making them hot chocolate when they would finally all traipse in stomping the snow from their boots.

It's a warm memory, but like so many other things, it makes his heart ache for his family. For his sisters. For his mother. He looks at the clock. If he were home right now...

Ruben shrugs away from the fireplace where he'd been leaning against the wall, lost in his own thoughts. He can't stand it anymore. "Alex, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Alvie and Usnavi smile from the couch. 

"Sure, Ruben."

They head into Alex's study off the main room. Alex motions for them to sit in the two chairs on this side of his desk. They sit and Ruben is quiet for a long time, running his fingers along the edge of the bands that he's wearing today for Lyra's protection.

"I- I- I'd really like to call home. To talk to my mom today. Can you help me do that?"

"Sure, Ruben. Do you want me to talk you through what you can and can't say again?"

"Y-yeah. I-I just can't stand the thought of her going through another Christmas believing that I'm dead."

"Yeah, sure. I understand. Believe me, do I ever understand. All those years that Eliza and my children were alive. The holidays were pure torture."

They spend a few minutes reviewing the protocols for Ruben's phone call home. Alex dials the number with the phone on speaker.

"Bueno, Estafania speaking."

"Ma? It's... It's me. It's Ruben."

His mother is quiet for a minute, like she’s trying to process what she just heard. 

“You have news about my son, Rubén?” She asks, hesitating again. It’s almost like she doesn’t want to get her hopes up with what’s happening.

“Mamá, it’s me. It’s really Rubén. Your _mijo_. I’m alive. I… I couldn’t call. I-I-I’m so sorry. But it really is me.”

“Aye, mi chiquito!” Her tone changes now. It sounds like she’s trying not to cry. “I wasn’t sure if I would ever hear your voice again.” 

“I thought the same. I… I got hurt. But I’m okay. It’s part of why I didn’t come home. I can’t tell you everything, like I said, but I miss you. I miss you so much. And I couldn’t bear the thought of you going through another Christmas still thinking I was dead.”

His mother is crying now, he can tell.

“It’s…” he hears her take a steadying breath. “It’s enough to know you’re alive,” she says, laughing a little through her tears. “You’re safe? You’re okay?”

“Yeah, ma. I’m okay. I’m safe now. I have good people helping me. I-I’m good.”

His mother hesitates again. It’s obvious that she wants to ask so many things, but he’s been missing for over a year and it’s an out of the blue phone call. She probably suspects he’s not at liberty to tell him much.

“When can I see you again?” She almost whispers. 

“Do you remember how to facetime?” he laughs a little. He used to always have to walk her through how to do that. 

Estafania laughs a little too. “You know me. I have a hard time turning this thing on. I think so.”

“I can do it from my end. All you’ll have to do is press the green button. Okay, ma?”

When they can see each other’s faces, it’s like a dam has broken and his mother is sobbing freely now, covering her mouth with one hand. When she moves it, it’s only to reach out like she can almost touch him.

“My beautiful boy,” she weeps, but she’s smiling. “Look at you…”

Ruben blushes and his chin quivers a bit. “You… you look good. I mean, it’s really great to see you.” He can’t keep the tears from trickling down his own cheeks to match hers. “It’s been so long. I, well I don’t want to talk about where I’ve been, but I thought about you and the girls a lot. Like all the time. There wasn’t a minute that went by that I didn’t want to be home with all of you.”

“Hold on,” she says, wiping at her eyes and calls, “Girls? Hurry! Come quick! Boyo is-”

“Ma-” Ruben interrupts. “I-I can’t talk to them. Not yet, okay? Just… It’s a lot for me to talk to you. I just… not yet. Okay. Maybe next time? I promise there will be a next time. I won’t go without talking to you again. I won’t. I’m just… I got sort of… broken while I’ve been gone. And I’m still healing. So, for now, can it just be you and me?”

His mother nods, wiping at her eyes again. She’s quiet for several minutes, just sniffling and smiling at him like she can’t believe what’s happening and then she asks something that makes Ruben remember what it’s like to have a mother and a family that loves him.

“Are you eating?”

“Yes, we had homemade tamales last night. And I made cinnamon rolls this morning.”

“I know you can’t tell me everything,” she says. “But tell me that you’re safe. That I’ll get to hold you again.”

She starts to cry again and says, “That next Christmas I’ll have all of my children here.”

“I hope so. I really do. I can’t make any promises, because I don’t know. But I will do my best. I promise. It’s what I want the most.” Ruben wipes at his eyes. He still can’t believe that he’s actually looking at her. It’s the best Christmas he’s had in a long time. 

Alexander comes back into the room, opening the door just a crack and gives Ruben the ‘everything okay’ gesture. 

Ruben turns back to the phone after giving Alexander the ‘all is good’ signal. “How was the graduation? I...I saw the pictures. She was beautiful.” 

Estafania smiles and nods slowly.

“We saved you a seat,” she says, and there’s a deep sadness in that, but at the same time, happiness and hope. His mother was always one to hold out hope. Maybe he gets it from her.

“Do you have the girls’ email addresses?” He asks, chewing on his thumbnail. Maybe it’s too soon to talk to them, but they can still get their ‘Santa’ letters. 

His mother seems to know he’s thinking something along these lines because she nods again and says, “I think this just might be their best Christmas ever. Until next year.”

Ruben smiles and nods too.

“I love you so much,” Estafania says. “You don’t know what it’s like to hear your voice again. To see your face. It means everything.”

“I love you,” Ruben tells her. He says, “I wish I could tell you more.”

“It’s okay,” she tells him. “Ruben, it’s okay.”

He knows that she understands. He should have called her sooner, but he also knows he needs to start leaving the should haves and could haves in the past. Things are different now. Some things.

“Eat,” his mother says. “And drink plenty of milk and water.”

Some things. Not everything.

“I will,” He says, smiling and wiping at his eyes. “I promise.”

“And don’t go so long without calling me, again.”

“Never, Ma. I promise.”

\-----

Alexander goes into the kitchen. Usnavi is there finishing up the last of the tamales. 

“So, Ruben is talking to his mom and he’s going to email his sisters.” Usnavi supplies. 

“Yes.” Alex replies. 

“You have a thing for families, don’t you.”

“I like happy endings. I’ve lived a long time and there are far too few of them.”

“Uh huh.” Usnavi takes a second to look past the bravado in his mind. 

“You… You miss your family.”

“What? Now stop that. My family has been gone for a long time. I’ve dealt with it.”

“Yeah, but, like, you had to leave them when they were alive. You had to watch from a distance. That’s why you don’t like Rocahmbeau forcing people apart from their families. It’s why that comment to Alvie made you so mad all those months ago. I heard your thoughts then. You were seething.”

“Okay, Usnavi. I get it. I can’t keep secrets from you. But my family is gone. They’ve been gone. So no more meddling. You’re not really a shrink.”

“I ain’t trying to shrink you. I think Alvie needs your help. He’s got this girl he thinks about all the time. His cousin.”

“Yeah, Rachel, she’s in his file.”

“You’ve made sure that I can call home when I need to. You’ve helped Ruben get in touch with his mom. I’m certain you’ll fix this issue with Lawless separating Lee and Lyra.”

“We need to find Rachel.” 

Usnavi nods. “He loves her. She’s his closest family member. His mind keeps going to… to… well to what Rachel would think of Ruben.”

“Ruben? Why- Oooooh. Ruben. Alvie and Ruben. Right.” Alex smiles a crooked smile. 

Usnavi laughs. “For a smart guy you can be a bit slow sometimes.”

“What? I’ve seen them together. Holding hands and stuff.”

Usanvi laughs again. “But you never really thought about it until right now.”

“Alright fine. Bloody mind reader,” Alex mumbles the last sentence under his breath. “I’ll see what I can find out about Rachel. If I can find her. I’ll make sure he can talk to her if that’s what he wants.”

“Awesome.”

“Oh and hey, not a word of this to anyone. Alvie gets on just fine. I’d hate for him to have another let down. It seems he’s had a lot of that. Enough for a lifetime.”

“Enough for a lifetime,” Usnavi agrees quietly. 

\---

Ruben stares at the screen, trying to decide if his email is good enough or not. He knows he’s hurt them by staying away. But he wants them to know that he still loves him. Would this be enough? 

He wishes he could see their faces when his mom tells them he’s alive, or when they read his email. Emotionally he’s not ready to talk to them face to face, but he does miss them. 

He thinks back to when the girls were little, running to check the mailbox to get their letters from ‘Santa’. 

“Boyo!” They always cried, jumping up and down, waving the envelopes around. “Read it to us!”

Mercedes and Paola never called him by his name. To them he was and would always be ‘Boyo’-an affectionate family name that his mother soon adopted after Paola was born. 

As he types, he finds himself back at home, carefully trying to decipher the girls’ childish handwriting and spelling like hieroglyphs so he can respond properly as Saint Nick. 

> _Dear Mercedes,_
> 
> _I hope you are doing well. Congratulations on graduating! I hope you studied hard and got into NYU. I heard that you are treating your mother and sister nicely. It is good that you are all safe and sound, even your brother. I’m sure whatever you want for Christmas-you’ve earned it!_
> 
> _Love ,_
> 
> _Your Secret Santa_
> 
> _PS: When your big, smart, handsome brother calls home, be patient with him._ _He loves you._

Paola’s is very much the same minus the graduation, but he talks about her art competitions and how he’d been too busy to check the results, but he’s sure she won all of them. 

He tries to picture their faces as they open the Christmas Day emails from the mysterious _It’s_Boyo@email.com_

\---

Late that evening, Ruben is in his lab. It’s quiet. Everyone is in their own space after all the holiday cheer. Alvie’s playing a game on one of the computers in the back of the lab. 

He sits up when he sees he has an email alert on his It’s_Boyo account. He clicks on it not knowing what to expect. He only gave that email out to his mom and sisters. 

> _Boyo,_
> 
> _I knew you’d want to see what they thought of your email. I look forward to the day when all my babies can be home together again. We love you and will be patient with you. Nothing could ever change that. We’ll be here waiting to see you whenever you’re ready._
> 
> _Mamá_

There’s an attachment. It’s a video. Ruben sucks in a quick breath. His hands shake a little as he clicks the link. There’s his beautiful sisters looking at a computer screen. They’re both crying as they read his emails out loud to each other. He listened to them. 

“He’s okay? He’s really okay?” They ask together. 

“Yes. He’s okay,” his mother reassures them. 

They turn and see that she’s recording. “Boyo! We miss you. We love you.”

Ruben touches the screen as if he could reach through it and hold them in person. 

His mother moves to put herself in the picture with them. “Merry Christmas, Rubén.”

“Merry Christmas!!!” his sisters yell. They all smile and wave at the camera. They’re all crying, but these aren’t sad tears. 

The video stops and Ruben wipes his cheeks. He can’t remember the last time he smiled this much. He presses play again. 

**THREE WEEKS LATER**

The air is thick with smoke. Alvie can hear gunshots and explosions. He drags himself over to slump against the wall. He holds his hand to his head where blood pours from a head wound. Ruben stumbles towards him, one of his arms is bleeding from a bullet to the shoulder.

“Alvie! Thank God. There you are. Quick. I need to know where everyone else is. Did he get her? Where is Lyra? Lee? Alvie?”

Alvie is not looking at Ruben. He’s looking just past him. He’s looking at the man in a white lab coat and green scrubs. 

Ruben turns to follow his gaze. “Ian?”

Alvie’s eyes fly open. 

To be continued... (In the next part of the Rochambeau Universe)

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as it stands right now, Part 2 is actually the section where we are posting our main character's backstories. 
> 
> So, the continuation may actually be Part 3. 
> 
> Either way, thank you all for your amazing comments and continued support. We've loved reading all your suggestions and thoughts on this story. We are having so much fun writing it. 
> 
> We have sooo much more story planned for you all. We hope you'll come back and read the next parts as we post them. <3


	16. Rochambeau Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rochambeau is officially at Part 2

Read it [Here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28765128/chapters/70536783)

And make sure to set your update alerts! Exciting things ahead!!!!


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